4,345 research outputs found
Optical Imaging of Very Luminous Infrared Galaxy Systems: Photometric Properties and Late Evolution
A sample of 19 low redshift (0.03z0.07) very luminous infrared galaxy
(VLIRG: L[8-1000 m] ) systems (30
galaxies) has been imaged in , , and . These objects cover a
luminosity range that is key to linking the most luminous infrared galaxies
with the population of galaxies at large. We have obtained photometry for all
of these VLIRG systems, the individual galaxies (when detached), and their
nuclei, and the relative behavior of these classes has been studied in optical
color-magnitude diagrams. The photometric properties of the sample are also
compared with previously studied samples of ULIRGs. The mean observed
photometric properties of VLIRG and ULIRG samples, considered as a whole, are
indistinguishable at optical wavelengths. This suggests that not only ULIRG,
but also the more numerous population of VLIRGs, have similar rest-frame
optical photometric properties as the submillimeter galaxies (SMG), reinforcing
the connection between low-{\it z} LIRGs -- high-{\it z} SMGs. When the nuclei
of the {\it young} and {\it old} interacting systems are considered separately,
some differences between the VLIRG and the ULIRG samples are found. In
particular, the old VLIRGs are less luminous and redder than old ULIRG systems.
If confirmed with larger samples, this behavior suggests that the late-stage
evolution is different for VLIRGs and ULIRGs. Specifically, as suggested from
spectroscopic data, the present photometric observations support the idea that
the activity during the late phases of VLIRG evolution is dominated by
starbursts, while a higher proportion of ULIRGs could evolve into a QSO type of
object.Comment: 27 pages, 5 figures (degraded to reduce space). Figures 1 and 2 are
multiple page figures (i.e. Fig 1a,b and Fig2a-g
K band Spectroscopy of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies: The 2 Jy Sample
We present near-infrared spectroscopy for a complete sample of 33
ultraluminous infrared galaxies at a resolution of R\approx 1000. Most of the
wavelength range from 1.80-2.20 microns in the rest frame is covered, including
the Pa-alpha and Br-gamma hydrogen recombination lines, and the molecular
hydrogen vibration-rotation 1-0 S(1) and S(3) lines. Other species, such as He
I, [Fe II], and [Si VI] appear in the spectra as well, in addition to a number
of weaker molecular hydrogen lines. Nuclear extractions for each of the
individual galaxies are presented here, along with spectra of secondary nuclei,
where available. The Pa-alpha emission is seen to be highly concentrated on the
nuclei, typically with very little emision extending beyond a radius of 1 kpc.
Signatures of active nuclei are rare in the present sample, occurring in only
two of the 33 galaxies. It is found that visual extinctions to the nuclei via
the Pa-alpha/Br-gamma line ratio in excess of 10 magnitudes are relatively
common among ULIRGs, and that visual extinctions greater than 25 mag are
necessary to conceal a QSO emitting half the total bolometric luminosity. The
vibration-rotation lines of molecular hydrogen appear to be predominantly
thermal in origin, with effective temperatures generally around 2200 K. The
relative nuclear velocities between double nucleus ULIRGs are investigated,
through which it is inferred that the maximum deprojected velocity difference
is about 200 km/s. This figure is lower than the velocities predicted by
physical models of strong interactions/mergers of large, gas-rich galaxies.Comment: 52 pages (19 with just figures), 9 figures, accepted for publication
in the Astronomical Journal; Table 3 not formatted properly on astro-ph: get
source and print Murphy.tab3.p
Imaging of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies in the Near-UV
We present the first ground-based U' (3410 angstroms) images of Ultraluminous
Infrared Galaxies (ULIGs). Strong U' emission (median total M_U' = -20.8) is
seen in all systems and in some cases the extended tidal features (both the
smooth stellar distribution and compact star-forming features) contribute up to
60-80% of the total flux. The star-forming regions in both samples are found to
have ages based on spectral synthesis models in the range 10-100 Myrs, and most
differences in color between them can be attributed to the effects of dust
reddening. Additionally, it is found that star-formation in compact knots in
the tidal tails is most prominent in those ULIGs which have double nuclei,
suggesting that the star-formation rate in the tails peaks prior to the actual
coalescence of the galaxy nuclei and diminishes quickly thereafter. Similar to
results at other wavelengths, the observed star formation at U' can only
account for a small fraction of the known bolometric luminosity of the ULIGs.
Azimuthally averaged radial light profiles at U' are characterized by a sersic
law with index n=2, which is intermediate between an exponential disk and an
r^(-1/4) law and closely resembles the latter at large radii. The implications
of this near-ultraviolet imaging for optical/near-infrared observations of high
redshift counterparts of ULIGs are discussed.Comment: 30 pages, 4 tables, and 9 figures, 2 of which are JPEGs. To appear in
the August, 2000 edition of the Astronomical Journa
The Canada-UK Deep Submillimeter Survey VI: The 3-Hour Field
We present the complete submillimeter data for the Canada-UK Deep
Submillimeter Survey (CUDSS) 3-hour field. The obeservations were taken with
the Submillimeter Common-User Bolometer Array (SCUBA) on the James Clerk
Maxwell Telescope on Mauna Kea. The 3-hour field is one of two main fields in
our survey and covers 60 square arcminutes to a 3-sigma depth of 3 mJy. In this
field we have detected 27 sources above 3-sigma and 15 above 3.5-sigma. We
assume the source counts follow the form and
measure = 3.3. This is in good agreement with previous
studies and further supports our claim (Eales et al., 2000) that SCUBA sources
brighter than 3 mJy produce ~20% of the 850m background energy. Using
preliminary ISO 15 m maps and VLA 1.4 GHz data we have identified
counterparts for six objects and have marginal detections at 450m for two
additional sources. With this information we estimate a median redshift for the
sample of 2.00.5, with 10% lying at 1. We have measured the
angular clustering of S850 > 3 mJy sources using the source catalogues from the
CUDSS two main fields, the 3-hour and 14-hour fields, and find a marginal
detection of clustering, primarily from the 14-hour field, of
. This is consistent with clustering at
least as strong as that seen for the Lyman-break galaxy population and the
Extremely Red Objects. Since SCUBA sources are selected over a broader range in
redshifts than these two populations the strength of the true spatial
clustering is expected to be correspondingly stronger.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Ap
A Search for OH Megamasers at z > 0.1. III. The Complete Survey
We present the final results from the Arecibo Observatory OH megamaser
survey. We discuss in detail the properties of the remaining 18 OH megamasers
detected in the survey, including 3 redetections. We place upper limits on the
OH emission from 85 nondetections and examine the properties of 25 ambiguous
cases for which the presence or absence of OH emission could not be determined.
The complete survey has discovered 50 new OH megamasers (OHMs) in
(ultra)luminous infrared galaxies ([U]LIRGs) which doubles the sample of known
OHMs and increases the sample at z>0.1 sevenfold. The Arecibo OH megamaser
survey indicates that the OHM fraction in LIRGs is an increasing function of
the far-IR luminosity (L_{FIR}) and far-IR color, reaching a fraction of
roughly one third in the warmest ULIRGs. Significant relationships between OHMs
and their hosts are few, primarily due to a mismatch in size scales of measured
properties and an intrinsic scatter in OHM properties roughly equal to the span
of the dataset. We investigate relationships between OHMs and their hosts with
a variety of statistical tools including survival analysis, partial correlation
coefficients, and a principal component analysis. There is no apparent OH
megamaser ``fundamental plane.'' We compile data on all previously known OHMs
and evaluate the possible mechanisms and relationships responsible for OHM
production in merging systems. The OH-FIR relationship is reexamined using the
doubled OHM sample and found to be significantly flatter than previously
thought: L_{OH} ~ L_{FIR}^{1.2 +/- 0.1}. This near-linear dependence suggests a
mixture of saturated and unsaturated masers, either within individual galaxies
or across the sample.Comment: 28 pages, 14 figures, accepted by AJ. (AASTeX, includes emulateapj5
and onecolfloat5
Mapping IR Enhancements in Closely Interacting Spiral-Spiral Pairs. I. ISO~CAM and ISO~SWS Observations
Mid-infrared (MIR) imaging and spectroscopic observations are presented for a
well defined sample of eight closely interacting (CLO) pairs of spiral galaxies
that have overlapping disks and show enhanced far-infrared (FIR) emission. The
goal is to study the star formation distribution in CLO pairs, with special
emphasis on the role of 'overlap starbursts'. Observations were made with the
Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) using the CAM and SWS instruments. The ISO~CAM
maps, tracing the MIR emission of warm dust heated by young massive stars, are
compared to new ground based H and R-band images. We identify three
possible subgroups in the sample, classified according to the star formation
morphology: (1) advanced mergers (Arp~157, Arp~244 and Arp~299), (2) severely
disturbed systems (Arp~81 and Arp~278), and (3) less disturbed systems
(Arp~276, KPG 347 and KPG 426). Localized starbursts are detected in the
overlap regions in all five pairs of subgroups (1) and (2), suggesting that
they are a common property in colliding systems. Except for Arp~244, the
'overlap starburst' is usually fainter than the major nuclear starburst in CLO
pairs. Star formation in 'less disturbed systems' is often distributed
throughout the disks of both galaxies with no 'overlap starburst' detected in
any of them. These systems also show less enhanced FIR emission, suggesting
that they are in an earlier interaction stage than pairs of the other two
subgroups where the direct disk collisions have probably not yet occurred.Comment: 27 pages text, 4 JPEG figures, 3 PS figures. To be accepted by ApJ.
High quality figures (included in a PS file of the paper) can be found in
http://spider.ipac.caltech.edu/staff/cxu/papers/ss_iso.ps.g
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