26,883 research outputs found
A Spitzer Unbiased Ultradeep Spectroscopic Survey
We carried out an unbiased, spectroscopic survey using the low-resolution
module of the infrared spectrograph (IRS) on board Spitzer targeting two 2.6
square arcminute regions in the GOODS-North field. IRS was used in spectral
mapping mode with 5 hours of effective integration time per pixel. One region
was covered between 14 and 21 microns and the other between 20 and 35 microns.
We extracted spectra for 45 sources. About 84% of the sources have reported
detections by GOODS at 24 microns, with a median F_nu(24um) ~ 100 uJy. All but
one source are detected in all four IRAC bands, 3.6 to 8 microns. We use a new
cross-correlation technique to measure redshifts and estimate IRS spectral
types; this was successful for ~60% of the spectra. Fourteen sources show
significant PAH emission, four mostly SiO absorption, eight present mixed
spectral signatures (low PAH and/or SiO) and two show a single line in
emission. For the remaining 17, no spectral features were detected. Redshifts
range from z ~ 0.2 to z ~ 2.2, with a median of 1. IR Luminosities are roughly
estimated from 24 microns flux densities, and have median values of 2.2 x
10^{11} L_{\odot} and 7.5 x 10^{11} L_{\odot} at z ~ 1 and z ~ 2 respectively.
This sample has fewer AGN than previous faint samples observed with IRS, which
we attribute to the fainter luminosities reached here.Comment: Published in Ap
Infrared-Faint Radio Sources are at high redshifts
Context: Infrared-Faint Radio Sources (IFRS) are characterised by relatively
high radio flux densities and associated faint or even absent infrared and
optical counterparts. The resulting extremely high radio-to-infrared flux
density ratios up to several thousands were previously known only for
High-redshift Radio Galaxies (HzRGs), suggesting a link between the two classes
of object. Prior to this work, no redshift was known for any IFRS in the
Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) fields which would help to put
IFRS in the context of other classes of object, especially of HzRGs. Aims: This
work aims at measuring the first redshifts of IFRS in the ATLAS fields.
Further, we test the hypothesis that IFRS are similar to HzRGs, as
higher-redshift or dust-obscured versions of these massive galaxies. Methods: A
sample of IFRS was spectroscopically observed using the Focal Reducer and Low
Dispersion Spectrograph 2 (FORS2) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT). The data
were calibrated based on the Image Reduction and Analysis Facility (IRAF) and
redshifts extracted. This information was then used to calculate rest-frame
luminosities, and to perform the first spectral energy distribution modelling
of IFRS based on redshifts. Results: We found redshifts of 1.84, 2.13, and
2.76, for three IFRS, confirming the suggested high-redshift character of this
class of object. These redshifts as well as the resulting luminosities show
IFRS to be similar to HzRGs. We found further evidence that fainter IFRS are at
even higher redshifts. Conclusions: Considering the similarities between IFRS
and HzRGs substantiated in this work, the detection of IFRS, which have a
significantly higher sky density than HzRGs, increases the number of Active
Galactic Nuclei in the early universe and adds to the problems of explaining
the formation of supermassive black holes shortly after the Big Bang.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures; version in prin
Principal Component Analysis and Radiative Transfer modelling of Spitzer IRS Spectra of Ultra Luminous Infrared Galaxies
The mid-infrared spectra of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) contain
a variety of spectral features that can be used as diagnostics to characterise
the spectra. However, such diagnostics are biased by our prior prejudices on
the origin of the features. Moreover, by using only part of the spectrum they
do not utilise the full information content of the spectra. Blind statistical
techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) consider the whole
spectrum, find correlated features and separate them out into distinct
components.
We further investigate the principal components (PCs) of ULIRGs derived in
Wang et al.(2011). We quantitatively show that five PCs is optimal for
describing the IRS spectra. These five components (PC1-PC5) and the mean
spectrum provide a template basis set that reproduces spectra of all z<0.35
ULIRGs within the noise. For comparison, the spectra are also modelled with a
combination of radiative transfer models of both starbursts and the dusty torus
surrounding active galactic nuclei. The five PCs typically provide better fits
than the models. We argue that the radiative transfer models require a colder
dust component and have difficulty in modelling strong PAH features.
Aided by the models we also interpret the physical processes that the
principal components represent. The third principal component is shown to
indicate the nature of the dominant power source, while PC1 is related to the
inclination of the AGN torus.
Finally, we use the 5 PCs to define a new classification scheme using 5D
Gaussian mixtures modelling and trained on widely used optical classifications.
The five PCs, average spectra for the four classifications and the code to
classify objects are made available at: http://www.phys.susx.ac.uk/~pdh21/PCA/Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
Unveiling a Population of X-ray Non-Detected AGN
We define a sample of 27 radio-excess AGN in the Chandra Deep Field North by
selecting galaxies that do not obey the radio/infrared correlation for
radio-quiet AGN and star-forming galaxies. Approximately 60% of these
radio-excess AGN are X-ray undetected in the 2 Ms Chandra catalog, even at
exposures of > 1 Ms; 25% lack even 2-sigma X-ray detections. The absorbing
columns to the faint X-ray-detected objects are 10^22 cm^-2 < N_H < 10^24
cm^-2, i.e., they are obscured but unlikely to be Compton thick. Using a local
sample of radio-selected AGN, we show that a low ratio of X-ray to radio
emission, as seen in the X-ray weakly- and non-detected samples, is correlated
with the viewing angle of the central engine, and therefore with obscuration.
Our technique can explore the proportion of obscured AGN in the distant
Universe; the results reported here for radio-excess objects are consistent
with but at the low end of the overall theoretical predictions for
Compton-thick objects.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal, 15 pages, 10
figures, 4 table
Spitzer Mid-to-Far-Infrared Flux Densities of Distant Galaxies
We study the infrared (IR) properties of high-redshift galaxies using deep
Spitzer 24, 70, and 160 micron data. Our primary interest is to improve the
constraints on the total IR luminosities, L(IR), of these galaxies. We combine
the Spitzer data in the southern Extended Chandra Deep Field with a
K-band-selected galaxy sample and photometric redshifts from the
Multiwavelength Survey by Yale-Chile. We used a stacking analysis to measure
the average 70 and 160 micron flux densities of 1.5 < z < 2.5 galaxies as a
function of 24 micron flux density, X-ray activity, and rest-frame near-IR
color. Galaxies with 1.5 < z < 2.5 and S(24)=53-250 micro-Jy have L(IR) derived
from their average 24-160 micron flux densities within factors of 2-3 of those
derived from the 24 micron flux densities only. However, L(IR) derived from the
average 24-160 micron flux densities for galaxies with S(24) > 250 micro-Jy and
1.5 < z < 2.5 are lower than those derived using only the 24 micron flux
density by factors of 2-10. Galaxies with S(24) > 250 micro-Jy have S(70)/S(24)
flux ratios comparable to sources with X-ray detections or red rest-frame IR
colors, suggesting that warm dust possibly heated by AGN may contribute to the
high 24 micron emission. Based on the average 24-160 micron flux densities,
nearly all 24 micron-selected galaxies at 1.5 < z < 2.5 have L(IR) < 6 x 10^12
solar luminosities, which if attributed to star formation corresponds to < 1000
solar masses per year. This suggests that high redshift galaxies may have
similar star formation efficiencies and feedback processes as local analogs.
Objects with L(IR) > 6 x 10^12 solar luminosities are quite rare, with a
surface density ~ 30 +/- 10 per sq. deg, corresponding to ~ 2 +/- 1 x 10^-6
Mpc^-3 over 1.5 < z < 2.5.Comment: Accepted for Publication in ApJ. AASTeX format. 34 pages, 12 figures.
Updated references and other small textual revision
A unique distant submillimeter galaxy with an X-ray-obscured radio-luminous active galactic nucleus
We present a multiwavelength study of an atypical submillimeter galaxy in the
GOODS-North field, with the aim to understand its physical properties of
stellar and dust emission, as well as the central AGN activity. Although it is
shown that the source is likely an extremely dusty galaxy at high redshift, its
exact position of submillimeter emission is unknown. With the new NOEMA
interferometric imaging, we confirm that the source is a unique dusty galaxy.
It has no obvious counterpart in the optical and even NIR images observed with
HST at lambda~<1.4um. Photometric-redshift analyses from both stellar and dust
SED suggest it to likely be at z~>4, though a lower redshift at z~>3.1 cannot
be fully ruled out (at 90% confidence interval). Explaining its unusual
optical-to-NIR properties requires an old stellar population (~0.67 Gyr),
coexisting with a very dusty ongoing starburst component. The latter is
contributing to the FIR emission, with its rest-frame UV and optical light
being largely obscured along our line of sight. If the observed fluxes at the
rest-frame optical/NIR wavelengths were mainly contributed by old stars, a
total stellar mass of ~3.5x10^11Msun would be obtained. An X-ray spectral
analysis suggests that this galaxy harbors a heavily obscured AGN with
N_H=3.3x10^23 cm^-2 and an intrinsic 2-10 keV luminosity of L_X~2.6x10^44
erg/s, which places this object among distant type 2 quasars. The radio
emission of the source is extremely bright, which is an order of magnitude
higher than the star-formation-powered emission, making it one of the most
distant radio-luminous dusty galaxies. The combined characteristics of the
galaxy suggest that the source appears to have been caught in a rare but
critical transition stage in the evolution of submillimeter galaxies, where we
are witnessing the birth of a young AGN and possibly the earliest stage of its
jet formation and feedback.Comment: 13 pages in printer format, 10 figures, 1 table, accepted for
publication in the A&
X-ray observations of sub-mm LABOCA galaxies in the eCDFS
We explore the X-ray properties of the 126 sub-mm galaxies (SMGs) of the
LABOCA survey in the CDFS and the eCDFS regions. SMGs are believed to
experience massive episodes of star-formation. Our goal is to examine whether
star-formation coexists with AGN activity, determine the fraction of highly
obscured AGN and finally to obtain an idea of the dominant power-mechanism in
these sources. Using Spitzer and radio arc-second positions for the SMGs, we
find 14 sources with significant X-ray detections. For most of these there are
only photometric redshifts available, with their median redshift being ~2.3.
Taking into account only the CDFS area which has the deepest X-ray
observations, we estimate an X-ray AGN fraction of <26+/-9 % among SMGs. The
X-ray spectral properties of the majority of the X-ray AGN which are associated
with SMGs are consistent with high obscuration, 10^23 cm-2, but there is no
unambiguous evidence for the presence of Compton-thick sources. Detailed
Spectral Energy Distribution fittings show that the bulk of total IR luminosity
originates in star-forming processes, although a torus component is usually
present. Finally, stacking analysis of the X-ray undetected SMGs reveals a
signal in the soft (0.5-2 keV) and marginally in the hard (2-5 keV) X-ray band.
The hardness ratio of the stacked signal is relatively soft (-0.40+/-0.10)
corresponding to a photon index of ~1.6. This argues against a high fraction of
Compton-thick sources among the X-ray undetected SMGs.Comment: 13 pages, to appear in A&
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