2,018 research outputs found
350 Micron Observations of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts
We present 350micron observations of 36 ultraluminous infrared galaxies
(ULIRGs) at intermediate redshifts (0.089 <= z <= 0.926) using the
Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera II (SHARC-II) on the Caltech
Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). In total, 28 sources are detected at S/N >= 3,
providing the first flux measurements longward of 100micron for a statistically
significant sample of ULIRGs in the redshift range of 0.1 < z < 1.0. Combining
our 350micron flux measurements with the existing IRAS 60 and 100micron data,
we fit a single-temperature model to the spectral energy distribution (SED),
and thereby estimate dust temperatures and far-IR luminosities. Assuming an
emissivity index of beta = 1.5, we find a median dust temperature and far-IR
luminosity of Td = 42.8+-7.1K and log(Lfir/Lsolar) = 12.2+-0.5, respectively.
The far-IR/radio correlation observed in local star-forming galaxies is found
to hold for ULIRGs in the redshift range 0.1 < z < 0.5, suggesting that the
dust in these sources is predominantly heated by starbursts. We compare the
far-IR luminosities and dust temperatures derived for dusty galaxy samples at
low and high redshifts with our sample of ULIRGs at intermediate redshift. A
general Lfir-Td relation is observed, albeit with significant scatter, due to
differing selection effects and variations in dust mass and grain properties.
The relatively high dust temperatures observed for our sample compared to that
of high-z submillimeter-selected starbursts with similar far-IR luminosities
suggest that the dominant star formation in ULIRGs at moderate redshifts takes
place on smaller spatial scales than at higher redshifts.Comment: (24 pages in preprint format, 1 table, 7 figures, accepted for
publication in ApJ
Molecular gas in extreme star-forming environments: the starbursts Arp220 and NGC6240 as case studies
We report single-dish multi-transition measurements of the 12^CO, HCN, and
HCO^+ molecular line emission as well as HNC J=1-0 and HNCO in the two
ultraluminous infra-red galaxies Arp220 and NGC6240. Using this new molecular
line inventory, in conjunction with existing data in the literature, we
compiled the most extensive molecular line data sets to date for such galaxies.
The many rotational transitions, with their different excitation requirements,
allow the study of the molecular gas over a wide range of different densities
and temperatures with significant redundancy, and thus allow good constraints
on the properties of the dense gas in these two systems. The mass (~(1-2) x
10^10 Msun) of dense gas (>10^5-6 cm^-3) found accounts for the bulk of their
molecular gas mass, and is consistent with most of their IR luminosities
powered by intense star bursts while self-regulated by O,B star cluster
radiative pressure onto the star-forming dense molecular gas. The highly
excited HCN transitions trace a gas phase ~(10-100)x denser than that of the
sub-thermally excited HCO^+ lines (for both galaxies). These two phases are
consistent with an underlying density-size power law found for Galactic GMCs
(but with a steeper exponent), with HCN lines tracing denser and more compact
regions than HCO^+. Whether this is true in IR-luminous, star forming galaxies
in general remains to be seen, and underlines the need for observations of
molecular transitions with high critical densities for a sample of bright
(U)LIRGs in the local Universe -- a task for which the HI-FI instrument on
board Herschel is ideally suited to do.Comment: 38 pages (preprint ApJ style), 3 figures, accepted for Ap
Wide-field mid-infrared and millimetre imaging of the high-redshift radio galaxy, 4C41.17
We present deep 350- and 1200-micron imaging of the region around 4C41.17 --
one of the most distant (z = 3.792) and luminous known radio galaxies --
obtained with the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC-II) and
the Max Planck Millimeter Bolometer Array (MAMBO). The radio galaxy is robustly
detected at 350- and 1200-micron, as are two nearby 850-micron-selected
galaxies; a third 850-micron source is detected at 350-micron and coincides
with a ~ 2-sigma feature in the 1200-micron map. Further away from the radio
galaxy an additional nine sources are detected at 1200-micron, bringing the
total number of detected (sub)millimeter selected galaxies (SMGs) in this field
to 14. Using radio images from the Very Large Array (VLA) and Spitzer
mid-infrared (mid-IR) data, we find statistically robust radio and/or 24-micron
counterparts to eight of the 14 SMGs in the field around 4C41.17. Follow-up
spectroscopy with Keck/LRIS has yielded redshifts for three of the eight
robustly identified SMGs, placing them in the redshift range 0.5 < z < 2.7,
i.e. well below that of 4C41.17. We infer photometric redshifts for a further
four sources using their 1.6-micron (rest-frame) stellar feature as probed by
the IRAC bands; only one of them is likely to be at the same redshift as
4C41.17. Thus at least four, and as many as seven, of the SMGs within the
4C41.17 field are physically unrelated to the radio galaxy. With the redshift
information at hand we are able to constrain the observed over-densities of
SMGs within radial bins stretching to R=50 and 100" (~ 0.4 and ~ 0.8Mpc at z ~
3.8) from the radio galaxy to ~ 5x and ~ 2x that of the field, dropping off to
the background value at R=150". [Abridged]Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA
SIGAME simulations of the [CII], [OI] and [OIII] line emission from star forming galaxies at z ~ 6
Of the almost 40 star forming galaxies at z>~5 (not counting QSOs) observed
in [CII] to date, nearly half are either very faint in [CII], or not detected
at all, and fall well below expectations based on locally derived relations
between star formation rate (SFR) and [CII] luminosity. Combining cosmological
zoom simulations of galaxies with SIGAME (SImulator of GAlaxy
Millimeter/submillimeter Emission) we have modeled the multi-phased
interstellar medium (ISM) and its emission in [CII], [OI] and [OIII], from 30
main sequence galaxies at z~6 with star formation rates ~3-23Msun/yr, stellar
masses ~(0.7-8)x10^9Msun, and metallicities ~(0.1-0.4)xZsun. The simulations
are able to reproduce the aforementioned [CII]-faintness at z>5, match two of
the three existing z>~5 detections of [OIII], and are furthermore roughly
consistent with the [OI] and [OIII] luminosity relations with SFR observed for
local starburst galaxies. We find that the [CII] emission is dominated by the
diffuse ionized gas phase and molecular clouds, which on average contribute
~66% and ~27%, respectively. The molecular gas, which constitutes only ~10% of
the total gas mass is thus a more efficient emitter of [CII] than the ionized
gas making up ~85% of the total gas mass. A principal component analysis shows
that the [CII] luminosity correlates with the star formation activity as well
as average metallicity. The low metallicities of our simulations together with
their low molecular gas mass fractions can account for their [CII]-faintness,
and we suggest these factors may also be responsible for the [CII]-faint normal
galaxies observed at these early epochs.Comment: 24 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Modelling the Molecular Gas in NGC 6240
We present the first observations of HCN, HCO
and SiO in NGC\,6240, obtained with the IRAM PdBI. Combining a Markov
Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) code with Large Velocity Gradient (LVG) modelling, and
with additional data from the literature, we simultaneously fit three gas
phases and six molecular species to constrain the physical condition of the
molecular gas, including massluminosity conversion factors. We find
of dense molecular gas in cold, dense clouds (\,K, \,cm) with a volume filling factor
, embedded in a shock heated molecular medium (\,K,
\,cm), both surrounded by an extended diffuse
phase (\,K, \,cm). We
derive a global with gas masses
, dominated by the
dense gas. We also find , which traces the
cold, dense gas. The [C]/[C] ratio is only slightly elevated
(), contrary to the very high [CO]/[CO] ratio (300-500)
reported in the literature. However, we find very high [HCN]/[HCN] and
[HCO]/[HCO] abundance ratios which we
attribute to isotope fractionation in the cold, dense clouds.Comment: 27 pages, 17 figures, 9 tables. Accepted in Ap
Interferometric Observations of Powerful CO Emission from the three Submillimeter Galaxies at z=2.30, 2.51 and 3.35
We report IRAM Plateau de Bure, millimeter interferometry of three z=~2.4 to
3.4, SCUBA deep field galaxies. Our CO line observations confirm the rest-frame
UV/optical redshifts, thus more than doubling the number of confirmed,
published redshifts of the faint submillimeter population and proving their
high-z nature. In all three sources our measurements of the intrinsic gas and
dynamical mass are large (1e10 to 1e11 Msun). In at least two cases the data
show that the submillimeter sources are part of an interacting system. Together
with recent information gathered in the X-ray, optical and radio bands our
observations support the interpretation that the submm-population consists of
gas rich (gas to dynamical mass ratio ~0.5) and massive, composite
starburst/AGN systems, which are undergoing a major burst of star formation and
are evolving into m*-galaxies.Comment: only minor modifications to comply with the ApJL edition rule
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