LMSA and high-redshift dusty starburst mergers

By using a new numerical code for deriving the spectral energy distributions of galaxies, we have investigated the time evolution of morphological properties, the star formation rate, and the submillimeter flux at 850 mum in high-redshift (z) dusty starburst mergers with mass ratio (m(2)) of two disks ranging from 0.1 (minor merger) to 1.0 (major one). We found that the maximum star-formation rate, the degree of dust extinction, and the 850 mum flux are larger for mergers with larger mt(2) The 850 mum flux from mergers at 1.5 less than or equal to z less than or equal to 3.0 in the observer frame is found to be a few mJy for major merger cases, and at most similar to 100 mu Jy for minor ones. This result suggests that only high-redshift major mergers are now detected by SCUBA with the current 850 mum detection limit of a few mJy. These results imply that LMSA with the expected detection limit of the order of 10 mu Jy at 850 mum can be used to study high-redshift mergers with variously different m(2), and thus provide an important clue to the formation of galaxies in the high-redshift universe.