Justin Howell

Explaining the [C II]157.7 μm Deficit in Luminous Infrared Galaxies : First Results from a Herschel/PACS Study of the GOALS Sample

We present the first results of a survey of the [C II] 157.7 μm emission line in 241 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) comprising the Great Observatories All-sky Survey (GOALS) sample, obtained with the PACS instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory. The [C II] luminosities, L_([C II]), of the LIRGs in GOALS range from ∼ 10^7 to 2×10^9 L_⊙. We find that LIRGs show a tight correlation of [C II]/FIR with far-IR flux density ratios, with a strong negative trend spanning from ∼ 10^(−2) to 10^(−4), as the average temperature of dust increases. We find correlations between the [C II]/FIR ratio and the strength of the 9.7 μm silicate absorption feature as well as with the luminosity surface density of the mid-IR emitting region (∑_(MIR)), suggesting that warmer, more compact starbursts have substantially smaller [C II]/FIR ratios. Pure star-forming LIRGs have a mean [C II]/FIR∼ 4 × 10^(−3), while galaxies with low 6.2 μm PAH equivalent widths (EWs), indicative of the presence of active galactic nuclei (AGN), span the full range in [C II]/FIR. However, we show that even when only pure star-forming galaxies are considered, the [C II]/FIR ratio still drops by an order of magnitude, from 10^(−2) to 10^(−3), with ∑_(MIR) and ∑_(IR), implying that the [C II] 157.7 μm luminosity is not a good indicator of the star formation rate (SFR) for most LIRGs, for it does not scale linearly with the warm dust emission most likely associated to the youngest stars. Moreover, even in LIRGs in which we detect an AGN in the mid-IR, the majority (2/3) of galaxies show [C II]/FIR≥ 10^(−3) typical of high 6.2 μm PAH EW sources, suggesting that most AGNs do not contribute significantly to the far-IR emission. We provide an empirical relation between the [C II]/FIR and the specific SFR (SSFR) for star-forming LIRGs. Finally, we present predictions for the starburst size based on the observed [C II] and far-IR luminosities which should be useful for comparing with results from future surveys of high-redshift galaxies with ALMA and CCAT.

MID-INFRARED SPECTRAL DIAGNOSTICS OF LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES

We present a statistical analysis of 248 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) which comprise the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) observed with the Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) on-board Spitzer in the rest-frame wavelength range between 5 and 38 µm. The GOALS sample enables a direct measurement of the relative contributions of star-formation and active galactic nuclei (AGN) to the total infrared (IR) emission from a large, statistically complete sample of LIRGs in the local Universe.Several diagnostics effective at isolating the AGN contribution to the Mid-infrared (MIR) emission using [NeV], [OIV] and [NeII] gas emission lines, the 6.2 µm PAH equivalent width (EQW) and the shape of the MIR continuum are compared. The [NeV] line which indicates the presence of an AGN is detected in 22% of all LIRGs. The 6.2 µm PAH EQW, [NeV]/L_(IR), [NeV]/[NeII] and [OIV]/[NeII] ratios, and the ratios of 6.2 µm PAH flux to the integrated continuum flux between 5.3 and 5.8 µm suggest values of around 10% for the fractional AGN contribution to the total IR luminosity of LIRGs. The median of these estimates suggests that for local LIRGs the fractional AGN contribution to the total IR luminosity is ~12%. AGN dominated LIRGs have higher global and nuclear IR luminosities, warmer MIR colors and are interacting more than starburst (SB) dominated LIRGs. However there are no obvious linear correlations between these properties, suggesting that none of these properties alone can determine the activity and evolution of an individual LIRG. A study of the IRAC colors of LIRGs confirms that methods of finding AGN on the basis of their MIR colors are effective at choosing AGN but 50% to 40% of AGN dominated LIRGs are not selected as such with these methods.

C-GOALS: Chandra observations of a complete sample of luminous infrared galaxies from the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Survey

We present X-ray data for a complete sample of 44 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), obtained with the Chandra X-ray Observatory. These are the X-ray observations of the high luminosity portion of the Great Observatory All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS), which includes the most luminous infrared selected galaxies, log (L_(ir)/L_⊙) ≥ 11.73, in the local universe, z ≤ 0.088. X-rays were detected from 43 out of 44 objects, and their arcsec-resolution images, spectra, and radial brightness distributions are presented. With a selection by hard X-ray colour and the 6.4 keV iron line, AGN are found in 37% of the objects, with higher luminosity sources more likely to contain an AGN. These AGN also tend to be found in late-stage mergers. The AGN fraction would increase to 48% if objects with [Ne v]λ14.3 μm detection are included. Double AGN are clearly detected only in NGC 6240 among 24 double/triple systems. Other AGN are found either in single nucleus objects or in one of the double nuclei at similar rates. Objects without conventional X-ray signatures of AGN appear to be hard X-ray quiet, relative to the X-ray to far-IR correlation for starburst galaxies, as discussed elsewhere. Most objects also show extended soft X-ray emission, which is likely related to an outflow from the nuclear region, with a metal abundance pattern suggesting enrichment by core collapse supernovae, as expected for a starburst.

SPECTRAL ENERGY DISTRIBUTIONS OF LOCAL LUMINOUS AND ULTRALUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES

Luminous (LIRGs; log (L IR/L ☉) = 11.00-11.99) and ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs; log (L_(IR)/L_☉) = 12.00-12.99) are the most extreme star-forming galaxies in the universe. The local (U)LIRGs provide a unique opportunity to study their multi-wavelength properties in detail for comparison with their more numerous counterparts at high redshifts. We present common large aperture photometry at radio through X-ray wavelengths and spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for a sample of 53 nearby (z 5.24 Jy) Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey. The SEDs for all objects are similar in that they show a broad, thermal stellar peak (~0.3-2 μm), and a dominant FIR (~40-200 μm) thermal dust peak, where νL_ν(60 μm)/νL_ν(V) increases from ~2 to 30 with increasing L_(IR). When normalized at IRAS 60 μm, the largest range in the luminosity ratio, R(λ) ≡ log[νL_ν(λ)/νL_ν(60 μm)], observed over the full sample is seen in the hard X-rays (HX = 2-10 keV), where ΔR_(HX) = 3.73 (R_(HX) = -3.10). A small range is found in the radio (1.4 GHz), ΔR_(1.4 GHz) = 1.75, where the mean ratio is largest, (R__(1.4GHz) = -5.81). Total infrared luminosities, L_(IR)(8-1000 μm), dust temperatures, and dust masses were computed from fitting thermal dust emission modified blackbodies to the mid-infrared (MIR) through submillimeter SEDs. The new results reflect an overall ~0.02 dex lower luminosity than the original IRAS values. Total stellar masses were computed by fitting stellar population synthesis models to the observed near-infrared (NIR) through ultraviolet (UV) SEDs. Mean stellar masses are found to be log (M_★/M_☉) = 10.79 ± 0.40. Star formation rates have been determined from the infrared (SFR_(IR) ~ 45 M_☉ yr^(–1)) and from the monochromatic UV luminosities (SFR_(UV) ~ 1.3 M_☉ yr^(–1)), respectively. Multi-wavelength active galactic nucleus (AGN) indicators have be used to select putative AGNs: About 60% of the ULIRGs would have been classified as an AGN by at least one of the selection criteria.

THE NUCLEAR STRUCTURE IN NEARBY LUMINOUS INFRARED GALAXIES: HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE NICMOS IMAGING OF THE GOALS SAMPLE

We present results of Hubble Space Telescope NICMOS H-band imaging of 73 of most luminous (i.e., log[L_IR/L_0]>11.4) Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs) in the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). This dataset combines multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopic data from space (Spitzer, HST, GALEX, and Chandra) and ground-based telescopes. In this paper we use the high-resolution near-infrared data to recover nuclear structure that is obscured by dust at optical wavelengths and measure the evolution in this structure along the merger sequence. A large fraction of all galaxies in our sample possess double nuclei (~63%) or show evidence for triple nuclei (~6%). Half of these double nuclei are not visible in the HST B-band images due to dust obscuration. The majority of interacting LIRGs have remaining merger timescales of 0.3 to 1.3 Gyrs, based on the projected nuclear separations and the mass ratio of nuclei. We find that the bulge luminosity surface density increases significantly along the merger sequence (primarily due to a decrease of the bulge radius), while the bulge luminosity shows a small increase towards late merger stages. No significant increase of the bulge Sersic index is found. LIRGs that show no interaction features have on average a significantly larger bulge luminosity, suggesting that non merging LIRGs have larger bulge masses than merging LIRGs. This may be related to the flux limited nature of the sample and the fact that mergers can significantly boost the IR luminosity of otherwise low luminosity galaxies. We find that the projected nuclear separation is significantly smaller for ULIRGs (median value of 1.2 kpc) than for LIRGs (mean value of 6.7 kpc), suggesting that the LIRG phase appears earlier in mergers than the ULIRG phase.

The Spatial Extent of (U)LIRGs in the Mid-infrared. I. The Continuum Emission

We present an analysis of the extended mid-infrared (MIR) emission of the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey sample based on 5–15μm low-resolution spectra obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph on Spitzer. We calculate the fraction of extended emission (FEE) as a function of wavelength for the galaxies in the sample, FEE_λ, defined as the fraction of the emission which originates outside of the unresolved component of a source at a given distance. We find that the FEE_λ varies from one galaxy to another, but we can identify three general types of FEE_λ: one where FEE_λ is constant, one where features due to emission lines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons appear more extended than the continuum, and a third which is characteristic of sources with deep silicate absorption at 9.7 μm. More than 30% of the galaxies have a median FEE_λ larger than 0.5, implying that at least half of their MIR emission is extended. Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs) display a wide range of FEE in their warm dust continuum (0 ≲ FEE_(13.2μm) ≲ 0.85). The large values of FEE_(13.2μm) that we find in many LIRGs suggest that the extended component of their MIR continuum emission originates in scales up to 10 kpc and may contribute as much as the nuclear region to their total MIR luminosity. The mean size of the LIRG cores at 13.2 μm is 2.6 kpc. However, once the IR luminosity of the systems reaches the threshold of L_(IR) ~ 10^(11.8) L_⊙, slightly below the regime of Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs), all sources become clearly more compact, with FEE_(13.2μm) ≲ 0.2, and their cores are unresolved. Our estimated upper limit for the core size of ULIRGs is less than 1.5 kpc. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that the compactness of systems with L_(IR) ≳ 10^(11.25) L_⊙ strongly increases in those classified as mergers in their final stage of interaction. The FEE_(13.2μm) is also related to the contribution of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) to the MIR emission. Galaxies which are more AGN dominated are less extended, independently of their L_(IR). We finally find that the extent of the MIR continuum emission is correlated with the far-IR IRAS log(f_(60μm)/f_(100μm)) color. This enables us to place a lower limit to the area in a galaxy from where the cold dust emission may originate, a prediction which can be tested soon with the Herschel Space Telescope.

Spitzer infrared spectrometer 16μm observations of the GOODS fields

We present Spitzer 16μm imaging of the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) fields. We survey 150 arcmin^2 in each of the two GOODS fields (North and South), to an average 3σ depth of 40 and 65 μJy, respectively. We detect ~1300 sources in both fields combined. We validate the photometry using the 3–24μm spectral energy distribution of stars in the fields compared to Spitzer spectroscopic templates. Comparison with ISOCAM and AKARI observations in the same fields shows reasonable agreement, though the uncertainties are large. We provide a catalog of photometry, with sources cross-correlated with available Spitzer, Chandra, and Hubble Space Telescope data. Galaxy number counts show good agreement with previous results from ISOCAM and AKARI with improved uncertainties. We examine the 16–24μm flux ratio and find that for most sources it lies within the expected locus for starbursts and infrared luminous galaxies. A color cut of S_(16)/S_(24) > 1.4 selects mostly sources which lie at 1.1 < z < 1.6, where the 24μm passband contains both the redshifted 9.7 μm silicate absorption and the minimum between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission peaks. We measure the integrated galaxy light of 16μm sources and find a lower limit on the galaxy contribution to the extragalactic background light at this wavelength to be 2.2 ± 0.2 nW m^(−2) sr^(−1).

IMAGING THE CIRCUMNUCLEAR REGION OF NGC 1365 WITH CHANDRA

We present the first Chandra/ACIS imaging study of the circumnuclear region of the nearby Seyfert galaxy NGC 1365. The X-ray emission is resolved into pointlike sources and complex, extended emission. The X-ray morphology of the extended emission shows a biconical soft X-ray-emission region extending ~5 kpc in projection from the nucleus, coincident with the high-excitation outflow cones seen in optical emission lines particularly to the northwest. Harder X-ray emission is detected from a kpc-diameter circumnuclear ring, coincident with the star-forming ring prominent in the Spitzer mid-infrared (IR) images; this X-ray emission is partially obscured by the central dust lane of NGC 1365. Spectral fitting of spatially separated components indicates a thermal plasma origin for the soft extended X-ray emission (kT = 0.57 keV). Only a small amount of this emission can be due to photoionization by the nuclear source. Detailed comparison with [O III]λ5007 observations shows that the hot interstellar medium (ISM) is spatially anticorrelated with the [O III]-emitting clouds and has thermal pressures comparable to those of the [O III] media, suggesting that the hot ISM acts as a confining medium for the cooler photoionized clouds. The abundance ratios of the hot ISM are fully consistent with the theoretical values for enrichment from Type II supernovae, suggesting that the hot ISM is a wind from the starburst circumnuclear ring. X-ray emission from a ~450 pc long nuclear radio jet is also detected to the southeast.

Environmental effects in clusters: modified far-infrared-radio relations within Virgo Cluster galaxies

We present a study on the effects of the intracluster medium (ICM) on the interstellar medium (ISM) of 10 Virgo Cluster galaxies using Spitzer far-infrared (FIR) and Very Large Array radio continuum imaging. Relying on the FIR-radio correlation within normal galaxies, we use our infrared data to create model radio maps, which we compare to the observed radio images. For six of our sample galaxies, we find regions along their outer edges that are highly deficient in the radio compared with our models. We also detect FIR emission slightly beyond the observed radio disk along these outer edges. We believe these observations are the signatures of ICM ram pressure. For NGC 4522, we find the radio-deficit region to lie just exterior to a region of high radio polarization and flat radio spectral index, although the total 20 cm radio continuum in this region does not appear strongly enhanced. These characteristics seem consistent for other galaxies with radio polarization data in the literature. The strength of the radio deficit is inversely correlated with the time since peak pressure as inferred from stellar population studies and gas-stripping simulations, consistent with the strength of the radio deficit being a good indicator of the strength of the current ram pressure. We also find that galaxies having local radio deficits appear to have enhanced global radio fluxes. Our preferred physical picture is that the observed radio-deficit regions arise from the ICM wind sweeping away cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and the associated magnetic field, thereby creating synchrotron tails as observed for some of our galaxies. We propose that CR particles are also reaccelerated by ICM-driven shocklets behind the observed radio-deficit regions which, in turn, enhances the remaining radio disk brightness. The high radio polarization and lack of precisely coincident enhancement in the total synchrotron power for these regions suggest shearing, and possibly mild compression of the magnetic field, as the ICM wind drags and stretches the leading edge of the ISM.

Mid-infrared atomic fine-structure emission-line spectra of luminous infrared galaxies: Spitzer/IRS spectra of the goals sample

We present the data and our analysis of mid-infrared atomic fine-structure emission lines detected in Spitzer/Infrared Spectrograph high-resolution spectra of 202 local Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs) observed as part of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). We readily detect emission lines of [S IV], [Ne II], [Ne V], [Ne III], [S III]18.7 μm, [O IV], [Fe II], [S III]_(33.5 μm), and [Si II]. More than 75% of these galaxies are classified as starburst-dominated sources in the mid-infrared, based on the [Ne V]/[Ne II] line flux ratios and equivalent width of the 6.2 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon feature. We compare ratios of the emission-line fluxes to those predicted from stellar photo-ionization and shock-ionization models to constrain the physical and chemical properties of the gas in the starburst LIRG nuclei. Comparing the [S IV]/[Ne II] and [Ne III]/[Ne II] line ratios to the Starburst99-Mappings III models with an instantaneous burst history, the emission-line ratios suggest that the nuclear starbursts in our LIRGs have ages of 1-4.5 Myr, metallicities of 1-2 Z_☉, and ionization parameters of 2-8 × 10^7 cm s^(–1). Based on the [S III]_(33.5 μm)/[S III]_(18.7 μm) ratios, the electron density in LIRG nuclei is typically one to a few hundred cm^(–3), with a median electron density of ~300 cm^(–3), for those sources above the low density limit for these lines. We also find that strong shocks are likely present in 10 starburst-dominated sources of our sample. A significant fraction of the GOALS sources (80) have resolved neon emission-line profiles (FWHM ≥600 km s^(–1)) and five show clear differences in the velocities of the [Ne III] or [Ne V] emission lines, relative to [Ne II], of more than 200 km s^(–1). Furthermore, six starburst and five active galactic nucleus dominated LIRGs show a clear trend of increasing line width with ionization potential, suggesting the possibility of a compact energy source and stratified interstellar medium in their nuclei. We confirm a strong correlation between the sum of the [Ne II]_(12.8 μm) and [Ne III]_(15.5 μm) emission, as well as [S III]_(33.5 μm), with both the infrared luminosity and the 24 μm warm dust emission measured from the spectra, consistent with all three lines tracing ongoing star formation. Finally, we find no correlation between the hardness of the radiation field or the emission-line width and the ratio of the total infrared to 8 μm emission (IR8), a measure of the strength of the starburst and the distance of the LIRGs from the star-forming main sequence. This may be a function of the fact that the infrared luminosity and the mid-infrared fine-structure lines are sensitive to different timescales over the starburst, or that IR8 is more sensitive to the geometry of the region emitting the warm dust than the radiation field producing the H II region emission.