Selection and mid-infrared spectroscopy of ultraluminous star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2

Journal Article · Sat Feb 01 00:00:00 EST 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/781/2/63· OSTI ID:22348132

Fang, Guanwen; Kong, Xu; Chen, Yang; Lin, Xuanbin ^[1]; Huang, Jia-Sheng ^[2]; Willner, S. P. ^[3]; Wang, Tao ^[4]

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1. Center for Astrophysics, University of Science and Technology of China, Anhui, 230026 (China)
2. National Astronomical Observatories of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100012 (China)
3. Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
4. Key Laboratory of Modern Astronomy and Astrophysics (Nanjing University), Ministry of Education, Nanjing 210093 (China)

Starting from a sample of 24 μm sources in the Extended Groth Strip, we use 3.6-8 μm color criteria to select ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) at z ∼ 2. Spectroscopy from 20-38 μm of 14 objects verifies their nature and gives their redshifts. Multi-wavelength data for these objects imply stellar masses >10{sup 11} M {sub ☉} and star formation rates ≥410 M {sub ☉} yr{sup –1}. Four objects of this sample observed at 1.6 μm (rest-frame visible) with Hubble Space Telescope/WFC3 show diverse morphologies, suggesting that multiple formation processes create ULIRGs. Of the 14 objects, 4 show signs of active galactic nuclei, but the luminosity appears to be dominated by star formation in all cases.

• OSTI ID: 22348132
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 781, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
ABSORPTION SPECTROSCOPY
COLOR
COSMOLOGY
GALAXIES
GALAXY NUCLEI
INFRARED SPECTRA
INTERMEDIATE INFRARED RADIATION
LUMINOSITY
MASS
PHOTOMETRY
RED SHIFT
SPACE
STARS
TELESCOPES
WAVELENGTHS