Systematic infrared 2.5-5 micron spectroscopy of nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxies with AKARI

We report on the results of systematic infrared 2.5-5 micron spectroscopy of 45 nearby ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) at z < 0.3 using IRC onboard the AKARI satellite. This paper investigates whether the luminosities of these ULIRGs are dominated by starburst activity, or optically elusive buried AGNs are energetically important. Our criteria include the strengths of the 3.3 micron polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission features and the optical depths of absorption features at 3.1 micron due to ice-covered dust grains and at 3.4 micron from bare carbonaceous dust grains. Because of the AKARI IRC's spectroscopic capability in the full 2.5-5 micron wavelength range, unaffected by Earth's atmosphere, we can apply this energy diagnostic method to ULIRGs at z > 0.15. We estimate the intrinsic luminosities of extended (several kpc), modestly obscured (Av < 15 mag) starburst activity based on the 3.3 micron PAH emission luminosities measured in AKARI IRC slitless spectra, and confirm that such starbursts are energetically unimportant in nearby ULIRGs. In roughly half of the observed ULIRGs classified optically as non-Seyferts, we find signatures of luminous energy sources that produce no PAH emission and/or are more centrally concentrated than the surrounding dust. We interpret these energy sources as buried AGNs. The fraction of ULIRGs with detectable buried AGN signatures increases with increasing infrared luminosity. Our overall results support the scenario that luminous buried AGNs are important in many ULIRGs at z < 0.3 classified optically as non-Seyferts, and that the optical undetectability of such buried AGNs occurs merely because of a large amount of nuclear dust, which can make the sightline of even the lowest dust column density opaque to the ionizing radiation of the AGNs.Comment: 48 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (AKARI special issue

Infinitesimal incommensurate stripe phase in an axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising model in two dimensions

An axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising (ANNNI) model is studied by using the non-equilibrium relaxation method. We find that the incommensurate stripe phase between the ordered phase and the paramagnetic phase is negligibly narrow or may vanish in the thermodynamic limit. The phase transition is the second-order transition if approached from the ordered phase, and it is of the Kosterlitz-Thouless type if approached from the paramagnetic phase. Both transition temperatures coincide with each other within the numerical errors. The incommensurate phase which has been observed previously is a paramagnetic phase with a very long correlation length (typically $\xi\ge 500$). We could resolve this phase by treating very large systems ($\sim 6400\times 6400$), which is first made possible by employing the present method.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. To appear in Phys.Rev.

Anomalous magnetoresistance and hidden spin canting in (DIETSe)_{2}MCl_{4} (M=Fe, Ga)

The quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) molecular conductors (DIETSe)_{2}MCl_{4} [M=Fe, Ga] undergo a spin density wave (SDW) transition below 12 K. The SDW ground state is suppressed by applying high pressure, recovering the Q1D Fermi surface which is confirmed by the appearance of Lebed resonance in the angle-dependent magnetoresistance (MR). Above the critical pressure of SDW, MR shows kink structures at high magnetic fields, reminiscent of field-induced spin density wave (FISDW) transition in both salts. The π-d hybrid (DIETSe)_{2}MCl_{4} also exhibits an antiferromagnetic (AF) transition of d-electron spins at 2.5 K, below which the spin-flop-induced positive large MR are observed. The change in the interlayer MR reaches 130% at 10.5 kbar. The resistance anomalies associated with spin flop are also observed in the angle-dependent MR at low magnetic fields below 5 T, associated with clear hysteresis. A polar plot of these anomalies reveals the presence of hidden spin canting. Two magnetic easy axes of d-electron spins are found to be tilted ±16 degrees from the b axis towards the c axis. The interplay between the SDW instability of Q1D π electrons and the local moments of AF d-electron spins is considered as the origin of the anomalous transport behaviors