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Title: A comparison of the morphological properties between local and z ∼ 1 infrared luminous galaxies: Are local and high-z (U)LIRGs different?

Abstract

Ultraluminous and luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs and LIRGs) are the most extreme star-forming galaxies in the universe and dominate the total star formation rate density at z > 1. In the local universe (z < 0.3), the majority of ULIRGs and a significant portion of LIRGs are triggered by interactions between gas-rich spiral galaxies, yet it is unclear if this is still the case at high z. To investigate the relative importance of galaxy interactions in infrared luminous galaxies, we carry out a comparison of optical morphological properties between local (U)LIRGs and (U)LIRGs at z = 0.5-1.5 based on the same sample selection, morphology classification scheme, and optical morphology at similar rest-frame wavelengths. In addition, we quantify the systematics in comparing local and high-z data sets by constructing a redshifted data set from local (U)LIRGs, in which its data quality mimics the high-z data set. Based on the Gini-M{sub 20} classification scheme, we find that the fraction of interacting systems decreases by ∼8% from local to z ≲ 1, and it is consistent with the reduction between local and redshifted data sets (6{sub −6}{sup +14}%). Based on visual classifications, the merger fraction of local ULIRGs is found to be ∼20%more » lower compared to published results, and the reduction due to redshifting is 15{sub −8}{sup +10}%. Consequently, the differences of merger fractions between local and z ≲ 1 (U)LIRGs is only ∼17%. These results demonstrate that there is no strong evolution in the fraction of (U)LIRGs classified as mergers at least out to z ∼ 1. At z > 1, the morphology types of ∼30% of (U)LIRGs cannot be determined due to their faintness in the F814W band; thus, the merger fraction measured at z > 1 suffers from large uncertainties.« less

Authors:
; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1];  [2];  [3];  [4]
  1. Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States)
  2. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of California at Irvine, 2162 Frederick Reines Hall, Irvine, CA 92697 (United States)
  3. Institute for Astronomy, ETH Zürich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 27, CH-8093 Zürich (Switzerland)
  4. National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22365351
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Astrophysical Journal
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 791; Journal Issue: 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0004-637X
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; CLASSIFICATION; COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS; DENSITY; GALAXIES; INTERACTIONS; RED SHIFT; REDUCTION; STARS; WAVELENGTHS

Citation Formats

Hung, Chao-Ling, Sanders, D. B., Larson, Kirsten L., Lee, Nicholas, Li, Yanxia, Lockhart, Kelly, Shih, Hsin-Yi, Barnes, Joshua E., Casey, Caitlin M., Koss, Michael, Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S., and Smith, Howard A., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu. A comparison of the morphological properties between local and z ∼ 1 infrared luminous galaxies: Are local and high-z (U)LIRGs different?. United States: N. p., 2014. Web. doi:10.1088/0004-637X/791/1/63.
Hung, Chao-Ling, Sanders, D. B., Larson, Kirsten L., Lee, Nicholas, Li, Yanxia, Lockhart, Kelly, Shih, Hsin-Yi, Barnes, Joshua E., Casey, Caitlin M., Koss, Michael, Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S., & Smith, Howard A., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu. A comparison of the morphological properties between local and z ∼ 1 infrared luminous galaxies: Are local and high-z (U)LIRGs different?. United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/791/1/63
Hung, Chao-Ling, Sanders, D. B., Larson, Kirsten L., Lee, Nicholas, Li, Yanxia, Lockhart, Kelly, Shih, Hsin-Yi, Barnes, Joshua E., Casey, Caitlin M., Koss, Michael, Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S., and Smith, Howard A., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu. 2014. "A comparison of the morphological properties between local and z ∼ 1 infrared luminous galaxies: Are local and high-z (U)LIRGs different?". United States. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/791/1/63.
@article{osti_22365351,
title = {A comparison of the morphological properties between local and z ∼ 1 infrared luminous galaxies: Are local and high-z (U)LIRGs different?},
author = {Hung, Chao-Ling and Sanders, D. B. and Larson, Kirsten L. and Lee, Nicholas and Li, Yanxia and Lockhart, Kelly and Shih, Hsin-Yi and Barnes, Joshua E. and Casey, Caitlin M. and Koss, Michael and Kartaltepe, Jeyhan S. and Smith, Howard A., E-mail: clhung@ifa.hawaii.edu},
abstractNote = {Ultraluminous and luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs and LIRGs) are the most extreme star-forming galaxies in the universe and dominate the total star formation rate density at z > 1. In the local universe (z < 0.3), the majority of ULIRGs and a significant portion of LIRGs are triggered by interactions between gas-rich spiral galaxies, yet it is unclear if this is still the case at high z. To investigate the relative importance of galaxy interactions in infrared luminous galaxies, we carry out a comparison of optical morphological properties between local (U)LIRGs and (U)LIRGs at z = 0.5-1.5 based on the same sample selection, morphology classification scheme, and optical morphology at similar rest-frame wavelengths. In addition, we quantify the systematics in comparing local and high-z data sets by constructing a redshifted data set from local (U)LIRGs, in which its data quality mimics the high-z data set. Based on the Gini-M{sub 20} classification scheme, we find that the fraction of interacting systems decreases by ∼8% from local to z ≲ 1, and it is consistent with the reduction between local and redshifted data sets (6{sub −6}{sup +14}%). Based on visual classifications, the merger fraction of local ULIRGs is found to be ∼20% lower compared to published results, and the reduction due to redshifting is 15{sub −8}{sup +10}%. Consequently, the differences of merger fractions between local and z ≲ 1 (U)LIRGs is only ∼17%. These results demonstrate that there is no strong evolution in the fraction of (U)LIRGs classified as mergers at least out to z ∼ 1. At z > 1, the morphology types of ∼30% of (U)LIRGs cannot be determined due to their faintness in the F814W band; thus, the merger fraction measured at z > 1 suffers from large uncertainties.},
doi = {10.1088/0004-637X/791/1/63},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22365351}, journal = {Astrophysical Journal},
issn = {0004-637X},
number = 1,
volume = 791,
place = {United States},
year = {Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014},
month = {Sun Aug 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014}
}