410 research outputs found
Detections of water ice, hydrocarbons, and 3.3um PAH in z~2 ULIRGs
We present the first detections of the 3um water ice and 3.4um amorphous
hydrocarbon (HAC) absorption features in z~2 ULIRGs. These are based on deep
rest-frame 2-8um Spitzer IRS spectra of 11 sources selected for their
appreciable silicate absorption. The HAC-to-silicate ratio for our z~2 sources
is typically higher by a factor of 2-5 than that observed in the Milky Way.
This HAC `excess' suggests compact nuclei with steep temperature gradients as
opposed to predominantly host obscuration. Beside the above molecular
absorption features, we detect the 3.3um PAH emission feature in one of our
sources with three more individual spectra showing evidence for it. Stacking
analysis suggests that water ice, hydrocarbons, and PAH are likely present in
the bulk of this sample even when not individually detected. The most
unexpected result of our study is the lack of clear detections of the 4.67um CO
gas absorption feature. Only three of the sources show tentative signs of this
feature and at significantly lower levels than has been observed in local
ULIRGs. Overall, we find that the closest local analogs to our sources, in
terms of 3-4um color, HAC-to-silicate and ice-to-silicate ratios, as well as
low PAH equivalent widths are sources dominated by deeply obscured nuclei. Such
sources form only a small fraction of ULIRGs locally and are commonly believed
to be dominated by buried AGN. Our sample suggests that, in absolute number,
such buried AGN are at least an order of magnitude more common at z~2 than
today. The presence of PAH suggests that significant levels of star-formation
are present even if the obscured AGN typically dominate the power budget.Comment: 39 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Ap
Discovery of strongly blue shifted mid-infrared [NeIII] and [NeV] emission in ULIRGs
We report the discovery of blue shifted (delta(V) > 200 km/s) mid-infrared
[NeIII] and/or [NeV] emission in 25 out of 82 ULIRGs (30% of our sample). The
incidence of blue shifted [NeV] emission is even higher (59%) among the sources
with a [NeV] detection -- the tell-tale signature of an active galactic nucleus
(AGN). Sixteen ULIRGs in our sample, eleven of which are optically classified
as AGN, have [NeIII] blue shifts above 200 km/s. A comparison of the line
profiles of their 12.81um [NeII], 15.56um [NeIII] and 14.32um [NeV] lines
reveals the ionization of the blue shifted gas to increase with blue shift,
implying decelerating outflows in a stratified medium, photo-ionized by the
AGN. The strong correlation of the line width of the [NeIII] line with the
radio luminosity indicates that interaction of expanding radio jets with the
dense ISM surrounding the AGN may explain the observed neon line kinematics for
the strongest radio sources in this sample.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ Letters. 15 pages, 4 figure
The nature and evolution of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: A mid-infrared spectroscopic survey
We report the first results of a low resolution mid-infrared spectroscopic
survey of an unbiased, far-infrared selected sample of 60 ultraluminous
infrared galaxies, using ISOPHOT-S on board ISO. We use the ratio of the 7.7um
`PAH' emission feature to the local continuum as a discriminator between
starburst and AGN activity. About 80% of all the ULIRGs are found to be
predominantly powered by star formation but the fraction of AGN powered objects
increases with luminosity.
Observed ratios of the PAH features in ULIRGs differ slightly from those in
lower luminosity starbursts. This can be plausibly explained by the higher
extinction and/or different physical conditions in the interstellar medium of
ULIRGs. The PAH feature-to-continuum ratio is anticorrelated with the ratio of
feature-free 5.9um continuum to the IRAS 60um continuum, confirming suggestions
that strong mid-IR continuum is a prime AGN signature. The location of
starburst-dominated ULIRGs in such a diagram is consistent with previous
ISO-SWS spectroscopy which implies significant extinction even in the
mid-infrared.
We have searched for indications that ULIRGs which are advanced mergers might
be more AGN-like, as postulated by the classical evolutionary scenario. No such
trend has been found amongst those objects for which near infrared images are
available to assess their likely merger status.Comment: aastex, 4 eps figures. Revised version, accepted by ApJ (Letters
Mid-infrared emission of galactic nuclei: TIMMI2 versus ISO observations and models
We investigate the mid-infrared radiation of galaxies that are powered by a
starburst or by an AGN. For this end, we compare the spectra obtained at
different spatial scales in a sample of infrared bright galaxies. ISO
observations which include emission of the nucleus as well as most of the host
galaxy are compared with TIMMI2 spectra of the nuclear region. We find that ISO
spectra are generally dominated by strong PAH bands. However, this is no longer
true when inspecting the mid-infrared emission of the pure nucleus. Here PAH
emission is detected in starbursts whereas it is significantly reduced or
completely absent in AGNs. A physical explanation of these new observational
results is presented by examining the temperature fluctuation of a PAH after
interaction with a photon. It turns out that the hardness of the radiation
field is a key parameter for quantifying the photo-destruction of small grains.
Our theoretical study predicts PAH evaporation in soft X-ray environments.
Radiative transfer calculations of clumpy starbursts and AGN corroborate the
observational fact that PAH emission is connected to starburst activity whereas
PAHs are destroyed near an AGN. The radiative transfer models predict for
starbursts a much larger mid-infrared size than for AGN. This is confirmed by
our TIMMI2 acquisition images: We find that the mid-infrared emission of
Seyferts is dominated by a compact core while most of the starbursts are
spatially resolved.Comment: 19 pages, 22 Figures, accepted by A&
Mid-infrared spectral evidence for a luminous dust enshrouded source in Arp220
We have re-analyzed the 6-12 micron ISO spectrum of the ultra-luminous
infrared galaxy Arp220 with the conclusion that it is not consistent with that
of a scaled up version of a typical starburst. Instead, both template fitting
with spectra of the galaxies NGC4418 and M83 and with dust models suggest that
it is best represented by combinations of a typical starburst component,
exhibiting PAH emission features, and a heavily absorbed dust continuum which
contributes ~40% of the 6-12 micron flux and likely dominates the luminosity.
Of particular significance relative to previous studies of Arp220 is the fact
that the emission feature at 7.7 micron comprises both PAH emission and a
broader component resulting from ice and silicate absorption against a heavily
absorbed continuum. Extinction to the PAH emitting source, however, appears to
be relatively low. We tentatively associate the PAH emitting and heavily
dust/ice absorbed components with the diffuse emission region and the two
compact nuclei respectively identified by Soifer et al. (2002) in their higher
spatial resolution 10 micron study. Both the similarity of the absorbed
continuum with that of the embedded Galactic protostars and results of the dust
models imply that the embedded source(s) in Arp220 could be powered by, albeit
extremely dense, starburst activity. Due to the high extinction, it is not
possible with the available data to exclude that AGN(s) also contribute some or
all of the observed luminosity. In this case, however, the upper limit measured
for its hard X-ray emission would require Arp220 to be the most highly obscured
AGN known.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A. Also available
at http://www.astro.rug.nl/~spoon/publications.htm
CO-Dark Star Formation and Black Hole Activity in 3C 368 at z = 1.131: Coeval Growth of Stellar and Supermassive Black Hole Masses
We present the detection of four far-infrared fine-structure oxygen lines, as
well as strong upper limits for the CO(2-1) and [N II] 205 um lines, in 3C 368,
a well-studied radio-loud galaxy at z = 1.131. These new oxygen lines, taken in
conjunction with previously observed neon and carbon fine-structure lines,
suggest a powerful active galactic nucleus (AGN), accompanied by vigorous and
extended star formation. A starburst dominated by O8 stars, with an age of ~6.5
Myr, provides a good fit to the fine-structure line data. This estimated age of
the starburst makes it nearly concurrent with the latest episode of AGN
activity, suggesting a link between the growth of the supermassive black hole
and stellar population in this source. We do not detect the CO(2-1) line, down
to a level twelve times lower than the expected value for star forming
galaxies. This lack of CO line emission is consistent with recent star
formation activity if the star-forming molecular gas has low metallicity, is
highly fractionated (such that CO is photodissociated through much of the
clouds), or is chemically very young (such that CO has not yet had time to
form). It is also possible, though we argue unlikely, that the ensemble of fine
structure lines are emitted from the region heated by the AGN.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in the
Astrophysical Journa
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