Constraint on the gas-to-dust ratio in massive star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 1.4

We carried out (CO)-C-12 (J = 2-1) observations toward three star-forming galaxies on the main sequence at z similar to 1.4 with the Nobeyama 45 m radio telescope. These galaxies have been detected with Spitzer/MIPS in 24 mu m, Herschel/SPIRE in 250 mu m and 350 mu m; their gas metallicity, derived from optical emission line ratios based on near-infrared spectroscopic observations, is close to the solar metallicity. Although weak signal-like features of CO were seen, we could not detect significant CO emission. The dust mass and the upper limits on the molecular gas mass are (3.4-6.7) x 10(8) M-circle dot and (9.7-14) x 10(10) (alpha(CO)/4.36) M-circle dot, respectively. The upper limits on the gas-to-dust ratios at z similar to 1.4 are 150-410, which are comparable to the gas-to-dust ratios in local galaxies with similar gas metallicity. A line stacking analysis enables us to detect significant CO emission and to derive an average molecular gas mass of 1.3 x 10(11) M-circle dot and gas-to-dust ratio of 250. This gas-to-dust ratio is also near to that in local galaxies with solar metallicity. These results suggest that the gas-to-dust ratio in star-forming galaxies with solar metallicity does not evolve significantly up to z similar to 1.4. By comparing to a theoretical calculation, a rapid increase of the dust mass in an earlier epoch of galaxy evolution is suggested.