390 research outputs found
Unbiased Large Spectroscopic Surveys of Galaxies Selected by SPICA Using Dust Bands
The mid-infrared range contains many spectral features associated with large molecules and dust grains such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and silicates. These are usually very strong compared to fine-structure gas lines, and thus valuable in studying the spectral properties of faint distant galaxies. In this paper, we evaluate the capability of low-resolution mid-infrared spectroscopic surveys of galaxies that could be performed by SPICA. The surveys are designed to address the question how star formation and black hole accretion activities evolved over cosmic time through spectral diagnostics of the physical conditions of the interstellar/circumnuclear media in galaxies. On the basis of results obtained with Herschel far-infrared photometric surveys of distant galaxies and Spitzer and AKARI near- to mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of nearby galaxies, we estimate the numbers of the galaxies at redshift z > 0.5, which are expected to be detected in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon features or dust continuum by a wide (10 deg^2) or deep (1 deg^2) blind survey, both for a given observation time of 600 h. As by-products of the wide blind survey, we also expect to detect debris disks, through the mid-infrared excess above the photospheric emission of nearby main-sequence stars, and we estimate their number. We demonstrate that the SPICA mid-infrared surveys will efficiently provide us with unprecedentedly large spectral samples, which can be studied further in the far-infrared with SPICA
A view of the narrow-line region in the infrared: active galactic nuclei with resolved fine-structure lines in the Spitzer archive
We queried the Spitzer archive for high-resolution observations with the
Infrared Spectrograph of optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGN) for
the purpose of identifying sources with resolved fine-structure lines that
would enable studies of the narrow-line region (NLR) at mid-infrared
wavelengths. By combining 298 Spitzer spectra with 6 Infrared Space Observatory
spectra, we present kinematic information of the NLR for 81 z<=0.3 AGN. We used
the [NeV], [OIV], [NeIII], and [SIV] lines, whose fluxes correlate well with
each other, to probe gas photoionized by the AGN. We found that the widths of
the lines are, on average, increasing with the ionization potential of the
species that emit them. No correlation of the line width with the critical
density of the corresponding transition was found. The velocity dispersion of
the gas, sigma, is systematically higher than that of the stars, sigma_*, in
the AGN host galaxy, and it scales with the mass of the central black hole,
M_BH. Further correlations between the line widths and luminosities L, and
between L and M_BH, are suggestive of a three dimensional plane connecting
log(M_BH) to a linear combination of log(sigma) and log(L). Such a plane can be
understood within the context of gas motions that are driven by AGN feedback
mechanisms, or virialized gas motions with a power-law dependence of the NLR
radius on the AGN luminosity. The M_BH estimates obtained for 35 type 2 AGN
from this plane are consistent with those obtained from the M_BH-sigma_*
relation.Comment: ApJ, revised to match the print versio
Unbiased Large Spectroscopic Surveys of Galaxies Selected by SPICA Using Dust Bands
The mid-infrared range contains many spectral features associated with large molecules and dust grains such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and silicates. These are usually very strong compared to fine-structure gas lines, and thus valuable in studying the spectral properties of faint distant galaxies. In this paper, we evaluate the capability of low-resolution mid-infrared spectroscopic surveys of galaxies that could be performed by SPICA. The surveys are designed to address the question how star formation and black hole accretion activities evolved over cosmic time through spectral diagnostics of the physical conditions of the interstellar/circumnuclear media in galaxies. On the basis of results obtained with Herschel far-infrared photometric surveys of distant galaxies and Spitzer and AKARI near- to mid-infrared spectroscopic observations of nearby galaxies, we estimate the numbers of the galaxies at redshift z > 0.5, which are expected to be detected in the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon features or dust continuum by a wide (10 deg^2) or deep (1 deg^2) blind survey, both for a given observation time of 600 h. As by-products of the wide blind survey, we also expect to detect debris disks, through the mid-infrared excess above the photospheric emission of nearby main-sequence stars, and we estimate their number. We demonstrate that the SPICA mid-infrared surveys will efficiently provide us with unprecedentedly large spectral samples, which can be studied further in the far-infrared with SPICA
SPICA--A Large Cryogenic Infrared Space Telescope: Unveiling the Obscured Universe
Measurements in the infrared wavelength domain allow us to assess directly the physical state and energy balance of cool matter in space, thus enabling the detailed study of the various processes that govern the formation and early evolution of stars and planetary systems in the Milky Way and of galaxies over cosmic time. Previous infrared missions, from IRAS to Herschel, have revealed a great deal about the obscured Universe, but sensitivity has been limited because up to now it has not been possible to fly a telescope that is both large and cold. Such a facility is essential to address key astrophysical questions, especially concerning galaxy evolution and the development of planetary systems. SPICA is a mission concept aimed at taking the next step in mid- and far-infrared observational capability by combining a large and cold telescope with instruments employing state-of-the-art ultrasensitive detectors. The mission concept foresees a 2.5-meter diameter telescope cooled to below 8 K. Rather than using liquid cryogen, a combination of passive cooling and mechanical coolers will be used to cool both the telescope and the instruments. With cooling not dependent on a limited cryogen supply, the mission lifetime can extend significantly beyond the required three years. The combination of low telescope background and instruments with state-of-the-art detectors means that SPICA can provide a huge advance on the capabilities of previous missions. The SPICA instrument complement offers spectral resolving power ranging from R 50 through 11000 in the 17-230 ?m domain as well as R 28.000 spectroscopy between 12 and 18 ?m. Additionally SPICA will be capable of efficient 30-37 ?m broad band mapping, and small field spectroscopic and polarimetric imaging in the 100-350 ?m range. SPICA will enable far infrared spectroscopy with an unprecedented sensitivity of 5×10?20 W/m2 (5 /1hr) - at least two orders of magnitude improvement over what has been attained to date. With this exceptional leap in performance, new domains in infrared astronomy will become accessible, allowing us, for example, to unravel definitively galaxy evolution and metal production over cosmic time, to study dust formation and evolution from very early epochs onwards, and to trace the formation history of planetary systems
High-ionization mid-infrared lines as black hole mass and bolometric luminosity indicators in active galactic nuclei
We present relations of the black hole mass and the optical luminosity with
the velocity dispersion and the luminosity of the [Ne V] and the [O IV]
high-ionization lines in the mid-infrared (MIR) for 28 reverberation-mapped
active galactic nuclei. We used high-resolution Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph
and Infrared Space Observatory Short Wavelength Spectrometer data to fit the
profiles of these MIR emission lines that originate from the narrow-line region
of the nucleus. We find that the lines are often resolved and that the velocity
dispersion of [Ne V] and [O IV] follows a relation similar to that between the
black hole mass and the bulge stellar velocity dispersion found for local
galaxies. The luminosity of the [Ne V] and the [O IV] lines in these sources is
correlated with that of the optical 5100A continuum and with the black hole
mass. Our results provide a means to derive black hole properties in various
types of active galactic nuclei, including highly obscured systems.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ
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&
The Star Formation Histories of z ~ 2 Dust-obscured Galaxies and Submillimeter-selected Galaxies
The Spitzer Space Telescope has identified a population of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) at z ~ 2 that may play an important role in the evolution of massive galaxies. We measure the stellar masses (M_*) of two populations of Spitzer-selected ULIRGs that have extremely red R – [24] colors (dust-obscured galaxies, or DOGs) and compare our results with submillimeter-selected galaxies (SMGs). One set of 39 DOGs has a local maximum in their mid-infrared (mid-IR) spectral energy distribution (SED) at rest frame 1.6 μm associated with stellar emission ("bump DOGs"), while the other set of 51 DOGs have power-law mid-IR SEDs that are typical of obscured active galactic nuclei ("power-law DOGs"). We measure M_* by applying Charlot & Bruzual stellar population synthesis models to broadband photometry in the rest-frame ultraviolet, optical, and near-infrared of each of these populations. Assuming a simple stellar population and a Chabrier initial mass function, we find that power-law DOGs and bump DOGs are on average a factor of 2 and 1.5 more massive than SMGs, respectively (median and inter-quartile M_* values for SMGs, bump DOGs, and power-law DOGs are log(M_*/M_☉) = 10.42^(+0.42)_(–0.36), 10.62^(+0.36)_(–0.32), and 10.71^(+0.40)_(–0.34), respectively). More realistic star formation histories drawn from two competing theories for the nature of ULIRGs at z ~ 2 (major merger versus smooth accretion) can increase these mass estimates by up to 0.5 dex. A comparison of our stellar masses with the instantaneous star formation rate (SFR) in these z ~ 2 ULIRGs provides a preliminary indication supporting high SFRs for a given M_*, a situation that arises more naturally in major mergers than in smooth accretion-powered systems
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