The Canada-United Kingdom deep submillimeter survey. V. The submillimeter properties of Lyman break galaxies

We have used 850 μm maps obtained as part of the Canada-UK Deep Submillimeter Survey (CUDSS) to investigate the submillimeter properties of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs). We used three samples of LBGs: two from the Canada-France Deep Fields (CFDF) survey covering CUDSS 14 and CUDSS 03, and one from Steidel and collaborators also covering CUDSS 14. We measure a mean flux from both CFDF LBG samples at a level of ∼2 σ of 0.414 ± 0.263 mJy for CUDSS 03 and 0.382 ± 0.206 mJy for CUDSS 14, but the Steidel et al. sample is consistent with zero flux. From this we place upper limits on the Lyman break contribution to the 850 μm background of ∼20%. We have also measured the cross-clustering between the LBGs and the SCUBA sources. From this measurement we infer a large clustering amplitude of r₀ = 11.5 ± 3.0 ± 3.0 h^-1 Mpc for the Steidel et al. sample (where the first error is statistical and the second systematic), r₀ = 4.5 ± 7.0 ± 5.0 h^-1 Mpc for CFDF 14, and r ₀ = 7.5 ± 7.0 ± 5.0 h^-1 Mpc for CFDF 03. The Steidel et al. sample, for which we have the most significant detection of clustering, is also the largest of the three samples and has spectroscopically confirmed redshifts.