2011ApJ...739L..33C

We present observations of the molecular gas in the GN20 proto-cluster of galaxies at z = 4.05 using the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). This group of galaxies is the ideal laboratory for studying the formation of massive galaxies via luminous, gas-rich starbursts within 1.6 Gyr of the big bang. We detect three galaxies in the proto-cluster in CO 2-1 emission, with gas masses (H₂) between 10¹⁰ and 10¹¹x(α/0.8) M_☉. The emission from the brightest source, GN20, is resolved with a size ∼2'' and has a clear north-south velocity gradient, possibly indicating ordered rotation. The gas mass in GN20 is comparable to the stellar mass (1.3x10¹¹x(α/0.8) M_☉ and 2.3x10¹¹ M_☉, respectively), and the sum of gas plus stellar mass is comparable to the dynamical mass of the system (∼3.4x10¹¹[sin (i)/sin (45°)]^–2 M_☉), within a 5 kpc radius. There is also evidence for a tidal tail extending another 2'' north of the galaxy with a narrow velocity dispersion. GN20 may be a massive, gas-rich disk that is gravitationally disturbed, but not completely disrupted. There is one Lyman-break galaxy (BD29079) in the GN20 proto-cluster with an optical spectroscopic redshift within our search volume, and we set a 3σ limit to the molecular gas mass of this galaxy of 1.1x10¹⁰x(α/0.8) M_☉.