Tracing the gas and dust in dusty star-forming galaxies at high-redshift

Abstract:
Submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) are dusty, gas-rich galaxies undergoing some of the most intense bursts of star formation in the known universe. As the likely progenitors of today's massive elliptical galaxies, they are key players in models of galaxy formation and evolution. Yet despite this fact, there is still much we do not understand about their nature and role in hierarchical galaxy formation. I will present Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) and Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations of the gas and dust in submillimeter galaxies. The VLA observations allow us to image the molecular gas on scales of ~1 kpc just 1.5 Gyr after the big bang, giving an unprecedented view of the material which feeds the star formation. The state-of-the-art ALMA observations allow us to identify counterparts to these dust-obscured giants. Together, these facilities shed light on the physical processes involved in fueling the massive starbursts and, ultimately, help us place SMGs in the cosmological context.