Spitzer Mid-Infrared Spectroscopy of Infrared Luminous Galaxies at z~2. II. Diagnostics

August 2007 • 2007ApJ...664..713S

Authors • Sajina, Anna • Yan, Lin • Armus, Lee • Choi, Philip • Fadda, Dario • Helou, George • Spoon, Henrik

Abstract • We present mid-IR spectral decomposition of a sample of 48 Spitzer-selected ULIRGs spanning z~1-3 and likely L_IR~10¹²-10¹³ L_solar. Our study aims at quantifying the star formation and active galactic nucleus (AGN) processes in these sources that recent results suggest have evolved strongly between the observed epoch and today. To do this, we study the mid-IR contribution of PAH emission, continuum, and extinction. About 3/4 of our sample are continuum (i.e., AGN) dominated sources, but ~60% of these show PAH emission, suggesting the presence of star formation activity. These sources have redder mid-IR colors than typical optically selected quasars. About 25% of our sample have strong PAH emission, but none are likely to be pure starbursts as reflected in their relatively high 5 μm hot dust continua. However, their steep 30-14 μm slopes suggest that star formation might dominate the total infrared luminosity. Six of our z~2 sources have EW_6.2>~0.3 μm and L_14μm>~10¹² L_solar (implying L_IR>~10¹³ L_solar). At these luminosities, such high EW_6.2 ULIRGs do not exist in the local universe. We find a median optical depth at 9.7 μm of <τ_9.7μm>=1.4. This is consistent with local IRAS-selected ULIRGs but differs from early results on SCUBA-selected z~2 ULIRGs. Similar to local ULIRGs, about 25% of our sample shows extreme obscuration (τ_9.7μm>~3), suggesting buried nuclei. In general, we find that our sources are similar to local ULIRGs but are an order of magnitude more luminous. It is not clear whether our z~2 ULIRGs are simply scaled-up versions of local ULIRGs or subject to fundamentally different physical processes.

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IPAC Authors
(alphabetical)

Lee Armus

Senior Scientist

George Helou

IPAC Executive Director