We present Expanded Very Large Array and Arecibo observations of two lensed submm galaxies at z \sim 2.5 , in order to search for redshifted 22.235 GHz water megamaser emission .
Both SMM J14011+0252 and SMM J16359+6612 have multi-wavelength characteristics consistent with ongoing starburst activity , as well as CO line emission indicating the presence of warm molecular gas .
Our observations do not reveal any evidence for H _ { 2 } O megamaser emission in either target , while the lensing allows us to obtain deep limits to the H _ { 2 } O line luminosities , L _ { H _ { 2 } O } < 7470 L _ { \odot } ( 3- \sigma ) in the case of SMM J14011+0252 , and L _ { H _ { 2 } O } < 1893 L _ { \odot } for SMM J16359+6612 , assuming linewidths of 80 km s ^ { -1 } .
Our search for , and subsequent non-detection of H _ { 2 } O megamaser emission in two strongly lensed starburst galaxies , rich in gas and dust , suggests that such megamaser emission is not likely to be common within the unlensed population of high-redshift starburst galaxies .
We use the recent detection of strong H _ { 2 } O megamaser emission in the lensed quasar , MG J0414+0534 at z = 2.64 to make predictions for future EVLA C-band surveys of H _ { 2 } O megamaser emission in submm galaxies hosting AGN .