Herschel-ATLAS: Evolution of the 250 μm luminosity function out to z =  0.5^⋆

¹ School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Queens Buildings, The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK
e-mail: s.dye@astro.cf.ac.uk
² Dept. of Physics & Astronomy, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
³ Sterrenkundig Observatorium, Universiteit Gent, Krijgslaan 281 S9, 9000 Gent, Belgium
⁴ Astrophysics Research Inst., Liverpool John Moores University, 12 Quays House, Egerton Wharf, Birkenhead, CH41 1LD, UK
⁵ School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
⁶ Centre for Astrophysics Research, Science and Technology Research Institute, University of Hertfordshire, Herts AL10 9AB, UK
⁷ Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, UMR6110 CNRS, 38 rue F. Joliot-Curie, 13388 Marseille, France
⁸ University of Padova, Department of Astronomy, Vicolo Osservatorio 3, 35122 Padova, Italy
⁹ ETH Zurich, Insitute for Astronomy, HIT J12.3, 8093 Zurich, Switzerland
¹⁰ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC) and Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
¹¹ Astrophysics Group, Imperial College, Blackett Laboratory, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2AZ, UK
¹² Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
¹³ SUPA, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of St. Andrews, North Haugh, St. Andrews, KY16 9SS, UK
¹⁴ National Radio Astronomy Observatory, PO Box 2, Green Bank, WV 24944, USA
¹⁵ Scuola Internazionale Superiore di Studi Avanzati, via Beirut 2-4, 34151 Triest, Italy
¹⁶ Instituto de Física de Cantabria (CSIC-UC), Santander, 39005, Spain
¹⁷ Anglo-Australian Observatory, PO Box 296, Epping, NSW 1710, Australia
¹⁸ UK Astronomy Technology Center, Royal Observatory, Edinburgh, EH9 3HJ, UK
¹⁹ Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale, Bâtiment 121, 91405 Orsay, France ; Université Paris-Sud 11 and CNRS (UMR 8617), France
²⁰ Astrophysics Branch, NASA Ames Research Center, Mail Stop 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA
²¹ European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild-Strasse 2 85748, Garching bei Munchen, Germany
²² Astronomy Centre, Department of Physics and Astronomy, School of Maths and Physical Sciences, Pevensey II Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QH, UK
²³ Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, The Open University, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA, UK
²⁴ SUPA, Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
²⁵ Jeremiah Horrocks Institute, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
²⁶ Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics (MPIK), Saupfercheckweg 1, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
²⁷ Herschel Science Centre, ESAC, ESA, PO Box 78, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28691 Madrid, Spain
²⁸ Oxford Astrophysics, Denys Wilkinson Building, University of Oxford, Keble Road, Oxford, OX1 3RH, UK
²⁹ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, PO Box 9513, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
³⁰ Astrophysics Science Division, Observational Cosmology Laboratory, Code 665, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
³¹ Caltech, MS247-19, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
³² University College London, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, Holmbury St. Mary, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 6NT, UK
³³ H H Wills Physics Laboratory, University of Bristol, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol, BS8 1TL, UK
³⁴ Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z1, Canada

Received: 31 March 2010
Accepted: 13 May 2010

Abstract

We have determined the luminosity function of 250 μm-selected galaxies detected in the ~14 deg² science demonstration region of the Herschel-ATLAS project out to a redshift of z = 0.5. Our findings very clearly show that the luminosity function evolves steadily out to this redshift. By selecting a sub-group of sources within a fixed luminosity interval where incompleteness effects are minimal, we have measured a smooth increase in the comoving 250 μm luminosity density out to z = 0.2 where it is 3.6_-0.9^+1.4 times higher than the local value.