A mid-IR study of Hickson Compact Groups II. Multi-wavelength analysis of the complete GALEX-Spitzer Sample

We present a comprehensive study on the impact of the environment of compact galaxy groups on the evolution of their members using a multi-wavelength analysis, from the UV to the infrared, for a sample of 32 Hickson compact groups (HCGs) containing 135 galaxies. Fitting the SEDs of all galaxies with the state-of-the-art model of da Cunha (2008) we can accurately calculate their mass, SFR, and extinction, as well as estimate their infrared luminosity and dust content. We compare our findings with samples of field galaxies, early-stage interacting pairs, and cluster galaxies with similar data. We find that classifying the groups as dynamically "old" or "young", depending on whether or not at least one quarter of their members are early-type systems, is physical and consistent with past classifications of HCGs based on their atomic gas content. [...ABRIDGED...] We also examine their SF properties, UV-optical and mid-IR colors, and we conclude that all the evidence point to an evolutionary scenario in which the effects of the group environment and the properties of the galaxy members are not instantaneous. Early on, the influence of close companions to group galaxies is similar to the one of galaxy pairs in the field. However, as the time progresses, the effects of tidal torques and minor merging, shape the morphology and star formation history of the group galaxies, leading to an increase of the fraction of early-type members and a rapid built up of the stellar mass in the remaining late-type galaxies.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Figure resolution degraded for arXiv limits, full resolution paper available at http://www.physics.uoc.gr/~bitsakis/paperII_bitsakis.pd

The Nature of Deeply Buried Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: A Unified Model for Highly Obscured Dusty Galaxy Emission

We present models of deeply buried ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and use them to construct a three-dimensional diagram for diagnosing the nature of observed ULIRGs. Our goal is to construct a suite of SEDs for a very simple model ULIRG structure, and to explore how well this simple model can (by itself) explain the full range of observed ULIRG properties. We use our diagnostic to analyze archival Spitzer Space Telescope IRS spectra of ULIRGs and find that: (1) In general, our model does provide a comprehensive explanation of the distribution of mid-IR ULIRG properties; (2) >75% (in some cases 100%) of the bolometric luminosities of the most deeply buried ULIRGs must be powered by a dust-enshrouded active galactic nucleus; (3) an unobscured "keyhole" view through <~10% of the obscuring medium surrounding a deeply buried ULIRG is sufficient to make it appear nearly unobscured in the mid-IR; and (4) the observed absence of deeply buried ULIRGs with large PAH equivalent widths is naturally explained by our models showing that deep absorption features are "filled-in" by small quantities of foreground unobscured PAH emission (e.g., from the host galaxy disk) at the level of ~1% the bolometric nuclear luminosity. The modeling and analysis we present will also serve as a powerful tool for interpreting the high angular resolution spectra of high-redshift sources to be obtained with the James Webb Space Telescope.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in the Ap

Optical detection of the radio supernova SN 2000ft in the circumnuclear region of the luminous infrared galaxy NGC 7469

SN 2000ft is detected in two independent Planetary Camera images (F547W and F814W) taken May 13, 2000, about two months before the predicted date of the explosion (July 19, 2000), based on the analysis of its radio light evolution by Alberdi and collaborators. The apparent optical magnitudes and red color of SN 2000ft indicate that it is observed through an extinction of at least A$_V$= 3.0 magnitudes. The extinction corrected lower limit to the absolute visual magnitude (M$_V$ $\leq -$ 18.0), identifies SN 2000ft as a luminous supernova in the optical, as other luminous radio supernovae before. SN 2000ft exploded in a region located at only 0.1 arcsec (i.e. 34 +/- 3 pc) west of a faint cluster (C24). No parent cluster is identified within the detection limits of the HST short exposures. The unambiguous detection of SN 2000ft in the visual shows that multi-epoch sub-arcsecond (FWHM less than 0.1 arcsec) optical imaging is also a valid tool that should be explored further to detect supernovae in the dusty (circum)nuclear regions of (U)LIRGs

Studying the evolution of galaxies in compact groups over the past 3 Gyr - II. The importance of environment in the suppression of star formation

We present an in depth study on the evolution of galaxy properties in compact groups over the past 3 Gyr. We are using the largest multi-wavelength sample to-date, comprised 1770 groups (containing 7417 galaxies), in the redshift range of 0.01<z<0.23. To derive the physical properties of the galaxies we rely on ultraviolet (UV)-to-infrared spectral energy distribution modeling, using CIGALE. Our results suggest that during the 3 Gyr period covered by our sample, the star formation activity of galaxies in our groups has been substantially reduced (3-10 times). Moreover, their star formation histories as well as their UV-optical and mid-infrared colors are significantly different from those of field and cluster galaxies, indicating that compact group galaxies spend more time transitioning through the green valley. The morphological transformation from late-type spirals into early-type galaxies occurs in the mid-infrared transition zone rather than in the UV-optical green valley. We find evidence of shocks in the emission line ratios and gas velocity dispersions of the late-type galaxies located below the star forming main sequence. Our results suggest that in addition to gas stripping, turbulence and shocks might play an important role in suppressing the star formation in compact group galaxies.Comment: (Accepted for publication in MNRAS, date of submission November 18, 2015

Thermodynamics of Chaplygin gas

We clarify thermodynamics of the Chaplygin gas by introducing the integrability condition. All thermal quantities are derived as functions of either volume or temperature. Importantly, we find a new general equation of state, describing the Chaplygin gas completely. We confirm that the Chaplygin gas could show a unified picture of dark matter and energy which cools down through the universe expansion without any critical point (phase transition).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, version "Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Science

Morphological Classification of Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies

We present an analysis of the morphological classification of 89 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) from the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) sample using non-parametric coefficients and compare their morphology as a function of wavelength. We rely on images obtained in the optical (B- and I-band) as well as in the infrared (H-band and 5.8$\mu$m). Our classification is based on the calculation of $Gini$ and the second order of light ($M_{20}$) non-parametric coefficients which we explore as a function of stellar mass ($M_\star$), infrared luminosity ($L_{IR}$) and star formation rate (SFR). We investigate the relation between $M_{20}$, the specific SFR (sSFR) and the dust temperature ($T_{dust}$) in our galaxy sample. We find that $M_{20}$ is a better morphological tracer than $Gini$, as it allows to distinguish systems formed by double systems from isolated and post-merger LIRGs. The multi-wavelength analysis allows us to identify a region in the $Gini$-$M_{20}$ parameter space where ongoing mergers reside, regardless of the band used to calculate the coefficients. In particular when measured in the H-band, this region can be used to identify ongoing mergers, with a minimal contamination from LIRGs in other stages. We also find that while the sSFR is positively correlated with $M_{20}$ when measured in the mid-infrared, i.e. star-bursting galaxies show more compact emission, it is anti-correlated with the B-band based $M_{20}$. We interpret this as the spatial decoupling between obscured and un-obscured star formation, whereby the ultraviolet/optical size of a LIRGs experience an intense dust enshrouded central starburst is larger than in the one in the mid-infrared since the contrast between the nuclear to the extended disk emission is smaller in the mid-infrared. This has important implications for high redshift surveys of dusty sources. [abridged]Comment: ( 18 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in A&A

The AKARI 2.5-5 Micron Spectra of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in the Local Universe

We present AKARI 2.5-5um spectra of 145 local luminous infrared galaxies in the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey. In all of the spectra, we measure the line fluxes and EQWs of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) at 3.3um and the hydrogen recombination line Br-alpha, with apertures matched to the slit sizes of the Spitzer spectrograph and with an aperture covering ~95% of the total flux in the AKARI 2D spectra. The star formation rates (SFRs) derived from Br-alpha measured in the latter aperture agree well with SFRs(LIR), when the dust extinction correction is adopted based on the 9.7um absorption feature. Together with the Spitzer spectra, we are able to compare the 3.3 and 6.2um PAH features, the two most commonly used near/mid-IR indicators of starburst (SB) or active galactic nucleus (AGN) dominated galaxies. We find that the 3.3 and 6.2um PAH EQWs do not follow a linear correlation and at least 1/3 of galaxies classified as AGN-dominated using 3.3um PAH are classified as starbursts based on 6.2um PAH. These galaxies have a bluer continuum slope than galaxies that are indicated to be SB-dominated by both PAH features. The bluer continuum emission suggests that their continuum is dominated by stellar emission rather than hot dust. We also find that the median Spitzer spectra of these sources are remarkably similar to the pure SB-dominated sources indicated by high PAH EQWs in both 3.3 and 6.2um. We propose a revised SB/AGN diagnostic diagram using 2-5um data. We also use the AKARI and Spitzer spectra to examine the performance of our new diagnostics and to estimate 3.3um PAH fluxes using the JWST photometric bands in 0<z<5. Of the known PAH features and mid-IR high ionization emission lines used as SB/AGN indicators, only the 3.3um PAH feature is observable with JWST at z>3.5, because the rest of the features at longer wavelengths fall outside the JWST wavelength coverage.Comment: 13 pages (without appendices), 12 figures, Accepted for publication in A&

Mid-Infrared T-ReCS Spectroscopy of Local LIRGs

We present T-ReCS high spatial resolution N-band (8-13 micron) spectroscopy of the central regions (a few kpc) of 3 local LIRGs. The nuclear spectra show deep 9.7 micron silicate absorption feature and the high ionization [SIV]10.5 micron emission line, consistent with their optical classification as AGN. The two LIRGs with unresolved mid-IR emission do not show PAH emission at 11.3 micron in their nuclear spectra. The spatially resolved mid-IR spectroscopy of NGC 5135 allows us to separate out the spectra of the Seyfert nucleus, an HII region, and the diffuse region between them on scales of less than 2.5 arcsec ~ 600 pc. The diffuse region spectrum is characterized by strong PAH emission with almost no continuum, whereas the HII region shows PAH emission with a smaller equivalent width as well as [NeII]12.8 micron line

Radio continuum properties of luminous infrared galaxies. Identifying the presence of an AGN in the radio

Luminous infrared galaxies are systems enshrouded in dust, which absorbs most of their optical/UV emission and re-radiates it in the mid- and far-infrared. Radio observations are largely unaffected by dust obscuration, enabling us to study the central regions of LIRGs in an unbiased manner. The main goal of this project is to examine how the radio properties of local LIRGs relate to their infrared spectral characteristics. Here we present an analysis of the radio continuum properties of a subset of the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS), which consists of 202 nearby systems (z<0.088). Our radio sample consists of 35 systems, or 46 individual galaxies, that were observed at both 1.49 and 8.44 GHz with the VLA with a resolution of about 1 arcsec (FWHM). The aim of the project is to use the radio imagery to probe the central kpc of these LIRGs in search of active galactic nuclei. We used the archival data at 1.49 and 8.44 GHz to create radio-spectral-index maps using the standard relation between flux density Sv and frequency v, S~v^-a, where a is the radio spectral index. By studying the spatial variations in a, we classified the objects as radio-AGN, radio-SB, and AGN/SB (a mixture). We identified the presence of an active nucleus using the radio morphology, deviations from the radio/infrared correlation, and spatially resolved spectral index maps, and then correlated this to the usual mid-infrared ([NeV]/[NeII] and [OIV]/[NeII] line ratios and EQW of the 6.2 um PAH feature) and optical (BPT diagram) AGN diagnostics. We find that 21 out of the 46 objects in our sample are radio-AGN, 9 are classified as starbursts (SB), and 16 are AGN/SB. After comparing to other AGN diagnostics we find 3 objects out of the 46 that are identified as AGN based on the radio analysis, but are not classified as such based on the mid-infrared and optical AGN diagnostics presented in this study.Comment: 33 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables, to appear in A&