Herschel-ATLAS: The dust energy balance in the edge-on spiral galaxy UGC4754

We use Herschel PACS and SPIRE observations of the edge-on spiral galaxy UGC4754, taken as part of the H-ATLAS SDP observations, to investigate the dust energy balance in this galaxy. We build detailed SKIRT radiative models based on SDSS and UKIDSS maps and use these models to predict the far-infrared emission. We find that our radiative transfer model underestimates the observed FIR emission by a factor of two to three. Similar discrepancies have been found for other edge-on spiral galaxies based on IRAS, ISO, and SCUBA data. Thanks to the good sampling of the SED at FIR wavelengths, we can rule out an underestimation of the FIR emissivity as the cause for this discrepancy. Instead we support highly obscured star formation that contributes little to the optical extinction as a more probable explanation

Spitzer 70-micron Confusion Level

Spitzer 70μm confusion measurements are presented based on ultra-deep MIPS-70μm observations of GOODS Hubble Deep Field North (HDFN). The instrument noise for the MIPS-70μm band integrates down with nearly t^(−0.5) for the low background HDF-N field. The estimated confusion level is σ_c = 0.30 ± 0.15mJy for a limiting flux density of 1.5mJy (q = 5)

HCO+ in the Starburst Galaxy M82

We report observations and an analysis of the distribution of HCO+(1-0) and HCO+(4-3) emission in the central 1 kpc star forming region of M82. Comparisons are made with other star formation indicators such as the mm continuum, the distribution of radio SNR's and the molecules CO and OH. In a broad sense, the HCO+ is distributed in a way similar to the CO, although there are noticeable differences in detail, including an inward displacement of spiral arm emission relative to CO. A comparison of the position-velocity plots for CO, HCO+(1-0), HCO+(4-3), and ionized gas, with orbits expected in the presence of the nuclear bar suggest an inward transfer of gas associated with star formation toward the nucleus. The HCO+(4-3)/(1-0) line ratios are comparatively uniform in the observed region, and according to an LVG analysis, reflect mean gas densities in the range 10^4 cm^{-3} - 10^5 cm^{-3} for kinetic temperatures in the range 20K - 60K. The comparative uniformity of these conditions and the low filling factor suggest that each sampled point comprises alarge number of clouds occupying a broad range of density, and possibly temperature. We briefly examine fractal type models in the context of the HCO+ data as an alternative way to analyze molecular line emission in M82

The IRAC Dark Field; Far- Infrared to X-ray Data

We present 20 band photometry from the far-IR to X-ray in the Spitzer IRAC dark field. The bias for the near-IR camera on Spitzer is calibrated by observing a ~20 arcminute diameter "dark" field near the north ecliptic pole roughly every two-to-three weeks throughout the mission duration of Spitzer. The field is unique for its extreme depth, low background, high quality imaging, time-series information, and accompanying photometry including data taken with Akari, Palomar, MMT, KPNO, Hubble, and Chandra. This serendipitous survey contains the deepest mid-IR data taken to date. This dataset is well suited for studies of intermediate redshift galaxy clusters, high redshift galaxies, the first generation of stars, and the lowest mass brown dwarfs, among others. This paper provides a summary of the data characteristics and catalog generation from all bands collected to date as well as a discussion of photometric redshifts and initial and expected science results and goals. To illustrate the scientific potential of this unique dataset, we also present here IRAC color color diagrams.Comment: 12 pages, ApJS accepte

Molecular Gas in the z=1.2 Ultraluminous Merger GOODS J123634.53+621241.3

We report the detection of CO(2-1) emission from the z=1.2 ultraluminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) GOODS J123634.53+621241.3 (also known as the sub-millimeter galaxy GN26). These observations represent the first discovery of high-redshift CO emission using the new Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-Wave Astronomy (CARMA). Of all high-redshift (z>1) galaxies within the GOODS-North field, this source has the largest far-infrared (FIR) flux observed in the Spitzer 70um and 160um bands. The CO redshift confirms the optical identification of the source, and the bright CO(2-1) line suggests the presence of a large molecular gas reservoir of about 7x10^10 M(sun). The infrared-to-CO luminosity ratio of L(IR)/L'(CO) = 80+/-30 L(sun) (K Km/s pc^2)^-1 is slightly smaller than the average ratio found in local ULIRGs and high-redshift sub-millimeter galaxies. The short star-formation time scale of about 70 Myr is consistent with a starburst associated with the merger event and is much shorter than the time scales for spiral galaxies and estimates made for high-redshift galaxies selected on the basis of their B-z and z-K colors.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Filtering of Signal Dependent Noise Applied to MIPS Data

Linear filtering and usual nonlinear median filtering are not effective for signal-dependent noise removal. We apply here an approximate decoupling of signal and noise by means of a nonlinear transform. The transform is followed by a linear filter and the corresponding inverse transform. This procedure allows us to mitigate the signal-dependent noise in the images obtained by the Multiband Imaging Photometer for Spitzer (MIPS), 70μm imaging band

A Multiwavelength Study of a Sample of 70 μm Selected Galaxies in the COSMOS Field. II. The Role of Mergers in Galaxy Evolution

We analyze the morphological properties of a large sample of 1503 70 μm selected galaxies in the COSMOS field spanning the redshift range 0.01 10^(12) L_☉) being up to ~50%. We also find that the fraction of spirals drops dramatically with L_(IR). Minor mergers likely play a role in boosting the infrared luminosity for sources with low luminosities (L_(IR) 1 being difficult to classify and subject to the effects of bandpass shifting; therefore, these numbers can only be considered lower limits. At z 1, the fraction of major mergers is lower, but is at least 30%-40% for ULIRGs. In a comparison of our visual classifications with several automated classification techniques we find general agreement; however, the fraction of identified mergers is underestimated due to automated classification methods being sensitive to only certain timescales of a major merger. Although the general morphological trends agree with what has been observed for local (U)LIRGs, the fraction of major mergers is slightly lower than seen locally. This is in part due to the difficulty of identifying merger signatures at high redshift. The distribution of the U – V color of the galaxies in our sample peaks in the green valley (= 1.1) with a large spread at bluer and redder colors and with the major mergers peaking more strongly in the green valley than the rest of the morphological classes. We argue that, given the number of major gas-rich mergers observed and the relatively short timescale that they would be observable in the (U)LIRG phase, it is plausible for the observed red sequence of massive ellipticals (<10^(12) M_☉) to have been formed entirely by gas-rich major mergers

Spitzer 70 Micron Source Counts in GOODS-North

We present ultradeep Spitzer 70 μm observations of GOODS-North (Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey). For the first time, the turnover in the 70 μm Euclidean-normalized differential source counts is observed. We derive source counts down to a flux density of 1.2 mJy. From the measured source counts and fluctuation analysis, we estimate a power-law approximation of the faint 70 μm source counts of dN/dS ∝ S^−1.6, consistent with that observed for the faint 24 μm sources. An extrapolation of the 70 μm source counts to zero flux density implies a total extragalactic background light (EBL) of 7.4 ± 1.9 nW m^−2 sr^−1. The source counts above 1.2 mJy account for about 60% of the estimated EBL. From fluctuation analysis, we derive a photometric confusion level of σc = 0.30 ± 0.15 mJy (q = 5) for the Spitzer 70 μm band