A spectroscopic study of local hyperluminous infrared galaxies

Details A spectroscopic study of local hyperluminous infrared galaxies A spectroscopic study of local hyperluminous infrared galaxies

Sep 2004

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2004sptz.prop.3746v&link_type=abstract

Spitzer Proposal ID #3746

Physics

Scientific paper

While IRAS revealed a plethora of ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIGs L_IR > 1010 L_solar), the high luminosity component (L_IR > 1013 L_solar) is relatively rare in number. Often selected with techniques biased towards AGN, Hyperluminous infrared galaxies (HyLIGs) are intriguing sources displaying a variety of optical spectroscopic types, and too faint for any meaningful spectroscopic investigation with instruments to date. Their colossal infrared luminosities imply a highly obscured starburst and/or AGN power source where the majority of the4 UV/optical photons are absorbed and re-radiated by dust across the infrared wavelength range. The presence of dust means the galaxy's emission suffers extinction. This is particularly important as it implies optical spectroscopy probes only the unobscured components of these systems. With the advent of the SST, these rare sources are spectroscopically accessible for the first time at the wavelengths where they are bright and suffer from low extinction. Spectroscopic data from the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) reveal that the mid-infrared is rich with spectral features: continuum and features from a range of dust grains residing in different phases of interstellar matter within a galaxy; subtle absorption features from silicates and water ice and hydrocarbons; and lines originating from ions, atoms and molecules. However HyLIGs were beyond the reach of ISOs sensitivity. With the Spitzer Space Telescope (SST) we may now probe into the constituent media and physical processes occurring within these luminous galaxies, for which our knowledge to date is broadly confined to coarsely sampled SEDs.

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