J. Bernard-Salas

Detection of C60 and C70 in a Young Planetary Nebula

Cosmic Fullerenes Since the discovery of the buckminsterfullerene C60 in laboratory experiments, it has been speculated that fullerenes could form abundantly in carbon-rich evolved stars and, because of their stability, survive the harsh radiation field in the interstellar medium as a gas-phase species. Cami et al. (p. 1180; published online 22 July; see the Perspective by Ehrenfreund and Foing) have detected large amounts of fullerenes in a peculiar planetary nebula with an extremely hydrogen-poor dust formation zone. Contrary to expectations, the fullerenes are not gaseous; they are cool, are in a neutral charge state, and represent about 1.5% of the available carbon. Hydrogen-poor conditions allow fullerenes to form in space. In recent decades, a number of molecules and diverse dust features have been identified by astronomical observations in various environments. Most of the dust that determines the physical and chemical characteristics of the interstellar medium is formed in the outflows of asymptotic giant branch stars and is further processed when these objects become planetary nebulae. We studied the environment of Tc 1, a peculiar planetary nebula whose infrared spectrum shows emission from cold and neutral C60 and C70. The two molecules amount to a few percent of the available cosmic carbon in this region. This finding indicates that if the conditions are right, fullerenes can and do form efficiently in space.

Observations of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. II. The IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample

We present spectra taken with the Infrared Spectrograph on Spitzer covering the 5-38 μm region of the 10 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) found in the IRAS Bright Galaxy Sample (BGS). There is a factor of 50 spread in the rest-frame 5.5-60 μm spectral slopes, and the 9.7 μm silicate optical depths range from at least τ_(9.7) ≤ 0.4 (A_V ~ 8) to τ_(9.7) ≥ 4.2 (A_V ≥ 78). There is evidence for water ice and hydrocarbon absorption and C_2H_2 and HCN absorption features in 4 and possibly 6 of the 10 BGS ULIRGs, indicating shielded molecular clouds and a warm, dense ISM. We have detected [Ne V] emission in 3 of the 10 BGS ULIRGs, at flux levels of 5-18 × 10^(-14) ergs cm^(-2) s^(-1) and [Ne V] 14.3/[Ne II] 12.8 line flux ratios of 0.12-0.85. The remaining BGS ULIRGs have limits on their [Ne V]/[Ne II]line flux ratios, which range from ≤0.15 to ≤0.01. Among the BGS ULIRGs, the AGN fractions implied by either the [Ne V]/[Ne II] or [O IV]/[Ne II] line flux ratios (or their upper limits) are significantly lower than implied by the MIR slope or strength of the 6.2 μm PAH EQW feature. There is evidence for hot (T > 300 K) dust in five of the BGS ULIRGs, with the fraction of hot dust to total dust luminosity ranging from ~1% to 23%, before correcting for extinction. When integrated over the IRAC-8, IRS blue peak-up, and MIPS-24 filter bandpasses, the IRS spectra imply very blue colors for some ULIRGs at z ~ 1.3. The large range in diagnostic parameters among the nearest ULIRGs suggests that matching survey results to a small number of templates may lead to biased results about the fraction of luminous dusty starbursts and AGNs at high z.

High-Resolution Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

We present R � 600, 10Y37 � m spectra of 53 ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs), taken using the Infrared SpectrographonboardSpitzer.Thespectra showfine-structureemissionlines of neon,oxygen,sulfur,silicon, argon, chlorine, iron, and phosphorous; molecular hydrogen lines, and C2H2, HCN, and OHabsorption features. We em- ploy diagnostics based on the fine-structure lines, the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) features and the 9.7 � m silicate absorption feature, to show that the infrared emission from most ULIRGs is powered mostly by star formation, with only � 20% of ULIRGs hosting an AGN with a greater IR luminosity than the starburst. The detection of (Ne v) k14.32injustunderhalfthesample,however,impliesthatanAGNcontributessignificantlytothemid-IRfluxin � 42% of ULIRGs.ThestarburstsandAGNsinULIRGsappearmoreextincted,andforthestarburstsmorecompactthanthose in lower luminosity systems. The excitations and electron densities in the narrow-line regions of ULIRGs appear comparable to those of starbursts with LP10 11.5 L� , although the NLR gas in ULIRGs may be more dense. We show thatthe(Neii)k12.81+(Neiii)k15.56 luminositycorrelateswithbothinfraredluminosityandtheluminosityof the 6.2 and 11.2 � m PAH features, and derive a calibration between PAH luminosity and star formation rate. Finally, we show thatULIRGswithsilicateabsorptionstrengthsSsilof 0:8PSsilP2:4 arelikelytobepoweredmainlybystarformation, but that ULIRGs with Ssil P0:8, and possibly those with Ssil k2:4, contain an IR-luminous AGN. Subject headingg galaxies: active — galaxies: evolution — galaxies: starburst — infrared: galaxies Online material: color figures

Mid-infrared properties of low-metallicity blue compact dwarf galaxies from the Spitzer infrared spectrograph

We present a Spitzer-based mid-infrared (MIR) study of a large sample of blue compact dwarfs (BCDs) using the InfraredSpectrograph(IRS),includingthefirstMIRspectrumof IZw18,thearchetypefortheBCDclassandamong the most metal-poor galaxies known. We show the spectra of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in a low-metallicity environment. We find that the equivalent widths (EWs) of PAHs at 6.2, 7.7, 8.6, and 11.2 � ma re generally weaker in BCDs than in typical starburst galaxies and that the fine-structure line ratio, [Ne iii]/[Ne ii], has a weak anticorrelation with the PAH EW. A much stronger anticorrelation is shown between the PAH EW and the product of the [Ne iii]/[Ne ii] ratio and the UV luminosity density divided by the metallicity. We conclude that the PAH EWin metal-poor high-excitation environments is determined by a combination of PAH formation and destruction effects. Subject headings: dust, extinction — galaxies: abundances — galaxies: dwarf — galaxies: starburst — infrared: galaxies

CASSIS: THE CORNELL ATLAS OF SPITZER/INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH SOURCES

We present the spectral atlas of sources observed in low resolution with the Infrared Spectrograph on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. More than 11,000 distinct sources were extracted using a dedicated algorithm based on the SMART software with an optimal extraction (AdOpt package). These correspond to all 13,000 low-resolution observations of fixed objects (both single source and cluster observations). The pipeline includes image cleaning, individual exposure combination, and background subtraction. Particular attention is given to bad pixel and outlier rejection at the image and spectra levels. Most sources are spatially unresolved so that optimal extraction reaches the highest possible signal-to-noise ratio. For all sources, an alternative extraction is also provided that accounts for all of the source flux within the aperture. CASSIS provides publishable quality spectra through an online database together with several important diagnostics, such as the source spatial extent and a quantitative measure of detection level. Ancillary data such as available spectroscopic redshifts are also provided. The database interface will eventually provide various ways to interact with the spectra, such as on-the-fly measurements of spectral features or comparisons among spectra.

PAH Emission from Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

We explore the relationships between the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) feature strengths, mid-infrared continuum luminosities, far-infrared spectral slopes, optical spectroscopic classifications, and silicate optical depths in a sample of 107 ULIRGs observed with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The detected 6.2 μm PAH equivalent widths (EWs) in the sample span more than 2 orders of magnitude (~0.006-0.8 μm), and ULIRGs with H II-like optical spectra or steep far-infrared spectral slopes (S_(25)/S_(60) 2.3) silicate optical depths. The far-infrared spectral slope is strongly correlated with PAH EW, but not with silicate optical depth. In addition, the PAH EW decreases with increasing rest-frame 24 μm luminosity. We argue that this trend results primarily from dilution of the PAH EW by continuum emission from dust heated by a compact central source, probably an AGN. High-luminosity, high-redshift sources studied with Spitzer appear to have a much larger range in PAH EW than seen in local ULIRGs, which is consistent with extremely luminous starburst systems being absent at low redshift, but present at early epochs.

The Unusual Hydrocarbon Emission from the Early Carbon Star HD 100764: The Connection between Aromatics and Aliphatics

We have used the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope to obtain spectra of HD 100764, an apparently single carbon star with a circumstellar disk. The spectrum shows emission features from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) that are shifted to longer wavelengths than normally seen, a characteristic of ‘‘class C’’ systems in the classification scheme of Peeters et al. All seven of the known class C PAH sources are illuminated by radiation fields that are cooler than those which typically excite PAH emission features. The observed wavelength shifts are consistent with hydrocarbon mixtures containing both aromatic and aliphatic bonds. We proposethat the class C PAH spectra are distinctive because the carbonaceous material has not been subjected to a strong ultraviolet radiation field, allowing relatively fragile aliphatic materials to survive. Subject headingg circumstellar matter — stars: carbon Online material: color figures

Detection of the Buried Active Galactic Nucleus in NGC 6240 with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope

We present mid-infrared spectra of the nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxy NGC 6240 taken with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on the Spitzer Space Telescope. The spectrum of NGC 6240 is dominated by strong fine-structure lines, rotational H2 lines, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features. The H2 line fluxes suggest molecular gas at a variety of temperatures. A simple two-temperature fit to the S(0) through S(7) lines implies a mass of ~6.7 × 106 M☉ at T ~ 957 K and ~1.6 × 109 M☉ at T ~ 164 K, or about 15% of the total molecular gas mass in this system. Notably, we have detected the [Ne V] 14.3 μm emission line, with a flux of 5 × 10-14 ergs cm-2 s-1, providing the first direct detection of the buried active galactic nucleus (AGN) in the mid-infrared. Modeling of the total spectral energy distribution (SED) from near- to far-infrared wavelengths requires the presence of a hot dust (T ~ 700 K) component, which we also associate with the buried AGN. The small [Ne V]/[Ne II] and [Ne V]/IR flux ratios, the relative fraction of hot dust emission, and the large 6.2 μm PAH equivalent width (EQW), are all consistent with an apparent AGN contribution of only 3%-5% to the bolometric luminosity. However, correcting the measured [Ne V] flux by the extinction implied by the silicate optical depth and our SED fitting suggests an intrinsic fractional AGN contribution to the bolometric luminosity of ~20%-24% in NGC 6240, which lies within the range implied by fits to the hard X-ray spectrum.

Advanced Optimal Extraction for the Spitzer/IRS

We present new advances in the spectral extraction of point-like sources adapted to the Infrared Spectrograph onboard the Spitzer Space Telescope. For the first time, we created a super-sampled point spread function of the low-resolution modules. We describe how to use the point spread function to perform optimal extraction of a single source and of multiple sources within the slit. We also examine the case of the optimal extraction of one or several sources with a complex background. The new algorithms are gathered in a plugin called Adopt which is part of the SMART data analysis software.

OBSERVATIONS OF ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES WITH THE INFRARED SPECTROGRAPH (IRS) ON THE SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE: EARLY RESULTS ON MARKARIAN 1014, MARKARIAN 463, AND UGC 5101

We present spectra taken with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope covering the 5-38 μm region of three ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs): Mrk 1014 (z = 0.163), Mrk 463 (z = 0.051), and UGC 5101 (z = 0.039). The continua of UGC 5101 and Mrk 463 show strong silicate absorption suggesting significant optical depths to the nuclei at 10 μm. UGC 5101 also shows the clear presence of water ice in absorption. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features are seen in both Mrk 1014 and UGC 5101, including the 16.4 μm line in UGC 5101. The fine-structure lines are consistent with dominant active galactic nucleus (AGN) power sources in both Mrk 1014 and Mrk 463. In UGC 5101 we detect the [Ne V] 14.3 μm emission line, providing the first direct evidence for a buried AGN in the mid-infrared. The detection of the 9.66 μm and 17.03 μm H2 emission lines in both UGC 5101 and Mrk 463 suggest that the warm molecular gas accounts for 22% and 48% of the total molecular gas masses in these galaxies.