Understanding the nature of optically faint radio sources and their connection to the submillimeter population

We present a sample of 43 submillimeter sources detected (at>3sigma) drawn from our program to follow up optically faint radio sources with the Submillimeter Common User Bolometric Array ( SCUBA) instrument. These sources already have associated radio and, in many cases, optical identifications, and many are also detected at 450 mum. We compare these with 12 submillimeter sources drawn from the literature, which were discovered in blank-field mapping campaigns but also have radio detections. We then use this total sample ( 55 sources) to study and model the evolution of dusty galaxies. A correlation is observed in the submillimeter/radio color-magnitude diagram (CMD), which can be modeled by strong luminosity evolution. The selection effects of the radio/optical preselection technique are determined from the models, and a corrected redshift distribution is constrained using a range of model assumptions. The temperature/redshift effects on the 450 mum detected subset of our sample are studied in relation to the models, and prospects for improved measurements in the shorter submillimeter wavelength windows ( 450 and 350 mum) are explored.