THE GREAT OBSERVATORIES ALL-SKY LIRG SURVEY: COMPARISON OF ULTRAVIOLET AND FAR-INFRARED PROPERTIES

Journal Article · Thu May 20 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/715/1/572· OSTI ID:21448715

Howell, Justin H; Armus, Lee; Surace, Jason A; Petric, Andreea; Bridge, Carrie; Haan, Sebastian; Inami, Hanae ^[1]; Mazzarella, Joseph M; Chan, Ben H. P.; Madore, Barry F ^[2]; Evans, Aaron S; Kim, Dong-Chan ^[3]; Sanders, David B ^[4]; Appleton, Phil; Frayer, David T; Lord, Steven; Schulz, Bernhard ^[5]; Bothun, Greg ^[6]; Charmandaris, Vassilis ^[7]; Melbourne, Jason ^[8]

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1. Spitzer Science Center, MS 220-6, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
2. Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
3. Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, P.O. Box 400325, Charlottesville, VA 22904 (United States)
4. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
5. NASA Herschel Science Center, IPAC, MS 100-22, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
6. Department of Physics, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 (United States)
7. University of Crete, Department of Physics, Heraklion 71003 (Greece)
8. Caltech Optical Observatories, Division of Physics, Mathematics and Astronomy, Mail Stop 320-47, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)

The Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) consists of a complete sample of 202 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) selected from the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample (RBGS). The galaxies span the full range of interaction stages, from isolated galaxies to interacting pairs to late stage mergers. We present a comparison of the UV and infrared properties of 135 galaxies in GOALS observed by GALEX and Spitzer. For interacting galaxies with separations greater than the resolution of GALEX and Spitzer ({approx}2''-6''), we assess the UV and IR properties of each galaxy individually. The contribution of the FUV to the measured star formation rate (SFR) ranges from 0.2% to 17.9%, with a median of 2.8% and a mean of 4.0% {+-} 0.4%. The specific star formation rate (SSFR) of the GOALS sample is extremely high, with a median value (3.9 x 10{sup -10} yr{sup -1}) that is comparable to the highest SSFRs seen in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey sample. We examine the position of each galaxy on the IR excess-UV slope (IRX-{beta}) diagram as a function of galaxy properties, including IR luminosity and interaction stage. The LIRGs on average have greater IR excesses than would be expected based on their UV colors if they obeyed the same relations as starbursts with L{sub IR} < 10{sup 11} L{sub sun} or normal late-type galaxies. The ratio of L{sub IR} to the value one would estimate from the IRX-{beta} relation published for lower luminosity starburst galaxies ranges from 0.2 to 68, with a median value of 2.7. A minimum of 19% of the total IR luminosity in the RBGS is produced in LIRGs and ultraluminous infrared galaxies with red UV colors ({beta}>0). Among resolved interacting systems, 32% contain one galaxy which dominates the IR emission while the companion dominates the UV emission. Only 21% of the resolved systems contain a single galaxy which dominates both wavelengths.

• OSTI ID: 21448715
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 715, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/715/1/572; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
EMISSION
GALAXIES
INTERACTIONS
LUMINOSITY
RESOLUTION
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
WAVELENGTHS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
RADIATIONS