The ALPINE-ALMA [C II] survey. Little to no evolution in the [C II]–SFR relation over the last 13 Gyr

The [C II] 158 μm line is one of the strongest IR emission lines, which has been shown to trace the star formation rate (SFR) of galaxies in the nearby Universe, and up to z ∼ 2. Whether this is also the case at higher redshift and in the early Universe remains debated. The ALPINE survey, which targeted 118 star-forming galaxies at 4.4   6 [C II] measurements (detections and upper limits) do not behave very differently to the z ∼ 4 − 6 data. We find a weak dependence of L([C II])/SFR on the Lyα equivalent width. Finally, we find that the ratio L([C II])/L_(IR) ∼ (1 − 3) × 10⁻³ for the ALPINE sources, comparable to that of “normal” galaxies at lower redshift. Our analysis, which includes the largest sample (∼150 galaxies) of [C II] measurements at z > 4 available so far, suggests no or little evolution of the [C II]–SFR relation over the last 13 Gyr of cosmic time.