A SEARCH FOR MOLECULAR GAS IN HIGH-REDSHIFT NORMAL GALAXIES IN THE FOREGROUND OF THE GRAVITATIONALLY LENSED QUASAR Q1208+1011

摘要

We searched for CO (3-2) and CO (5-4) in two "normal" galaxies presumed to be in a group/cluster at z ≈ 2.9 using the IRAM 30 m telescope. We detected no line emission. These nondetections constrain the molecular gas content of two high-redshift normal galaxies to M_(H_2) approx < 1 x 10~(11) solar mass. Similar observations constrain the H_2 gas content of the QSO itself (z = 3.803) to be M_(H_2) approx < 2 x 10~(12) solar mass. It is very unlikely that one of the cluster galaxies is the gravitational lens for Q1208 + 1011. An upper limit to the unbiased probability of cluster membership is ≈0.006.