[CII], [OI] and [OIII] line emission from z~6 gal.

In terms of [OI] and [OIII], very few observations are available at z>~5, but our simulations match two of the three existing z>~5 detections of [OIII] and are furthermore roughly consistent with the [OI] and [OIII] luminosity relations with star formation rate observed for local starburst galaxies. We find that the [CII] emission is dominated by the diffuse ionized gas phase and molecular clouds, which on average contribute ~66% and ~27%, respectively.

The molecular gas, which constitutes only ~10% of the total gas mass, is thus a more efficient emitter of [CII] than the ionized gas, which makes up ~85% of the total gas mass. A principal component analysis shows that the [CII] luminosity correlates with the star formation activity of a galaxy as well as its average metallicity. The low metallicities of our simulations together with their low molecular gas mass fractions can account for their [CII] faintness, and we suggest that these factors may also be responsible for the [CII]-faint normal galaxies observed at these early epochs.