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Mid-IR Spectroscopy of Submm Galaxies: Extended Star Formation in High-z Galaxies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2010

K. Menéndez-Delmestre
Affiliation:
NSF Astronomy & Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow; Carnegie Observatories, Pasadena, CA email: kmd@obs.carnegiescience.edu
A. W. Blain
Affiliation:
Caltech, Pasadena, CA
I. Smail
Affiliation:
Computational Cosmology, Durham, UK
D. M. Alexander
Affiliation:
Physics, Durham, UK
S. C. Chapman
Affiliation:
Inst. of Astronomy, Cambridge, UK
L. Armus
Affiliation:
SSC, Pasadena, CA
D. Frayer
Affiliation:
SSC, Pasadena, CA
R. J. Ivison
Affiliation:
Astronomy Technology Centre, Edinburgh, UK Inst. for Astronomy, Edinburgh, UK
H. Teplitz
Affiliation:
SSC, Pasadena, CA
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Abstract

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Ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs; L > 1012 L) are quite rare in the local universe, but seem to dominate the co-moving energy density at z > 2. Many are optically-faint, dust-obscured galaxies that have been identified only relatively recently by the detection of their thermal dust emission redshifted into the sub-mm wavelengths. These submm galaxies (SMGs) have been shown to be a massive objects (M* ~ 1011 M) undergoing intense star-formation(SFRs ~ 102 − 103 M yr−1) and the likely progenitors of massive ellipticals today. However, the AGN contribution to the far-IR luminosity had for years remained a caveat to these results. We used the Spitzer Infrared Spectrograph (IRS) to investigate the energetics of 24 radio-identified and spectroscopically-confirmed SMGs in the redshift range of 0.6 < z < 3.2. We find emission from Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) – which are associated with intense star-formation activity – in >80% of our sample and find that the median mid-IR spectrum is well described by a starburst component with an additional power-law continuum representing < 32% AGN contribution to the far-IR luminosity. We also find evidence for a more extended distribution of warm dust in SMGs compared to the more compact nuclear bursts in local ULIRGs and starbursts, suggesting that SMGs are not simple high-redshift analogs of local ULIRGs or nuclear starbursts, but have star formation which resembles that seen in less-extreme star-forming environments at z ~ 0.

Type
Contributed Papers
Copyright
Copyright © International Astronomical Union 2010

References

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