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Register a new userMorphologies of High Redshift, Dust Obscured Galaxies from Keck Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics
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J. Melbourne
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Spitzer MIPS images in the Bootes field of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey have revealed a class of extremely dust obscured galaxy (DOG) at z~2. The DOGs are defined by very red optical to mid-IR (observed-frame) colors, R - [24 um] > 14 mag, i.e. f_v (24 um) / f_v (R) > 1000. They are Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies with L_8-1000 um > 10^12 -10^14 L_sun, but typically have very faint optical (rest-frame UV) fluxes. We imaged three DOGs with the Keck Laser Guide Star Adaptive Optics (LGSAO) system, obtaining ~0.06 resolution in the K-band. One system was dominated by a point source, while the other two were clearly resolved. Of the resolved sources, one can be modeled as a exponential disk system. The other is consistent with a de Vaucouleurs profile typical of elliptical galaxies. The non-parametric measures of their concentration and asymmetry, show the DOGs to be both compact and smooth. The AO images rule out double nuclei with separations of greater than 0.1 (< 1 kpc at z=2), making it unlikely that ongoing major mergers (mass ratios of 1/3 and greater) are triggering the high IR luminosities. By contrast, high resolution images of z~2 SCUBA sources tend to show multiple components and a higher degree of asymmetry. We compare near-IR morphologies of the DOGs with a set of z=1 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs; L_IR ~ 10^11 L_sun) imaged with Keck LGSAO by the Center for Adaptive Optics Treasury Survey. The DOGs in our sample have significantly smaller effective radii, ~1/4 the size of the z=1 LIRGs, and tend towards higher concentrations. The small sizes and high concentrations may help explain the globally obscured rest-frame blue-to-UV emission of the DOGs.
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A simple optical to mid-IR color selection, R-[24] > 14, i.e. f_nu(24) / f_nu(R) > 1000, identifies highly dust obscured galaxies (DOGs) with typical redshifts of z~2 +/- 0.5. Extreme mid-IR luminosities (L_{IR} > 10^{12-14}) suggest that DOGs are powered by a combination of AGN and star formation, possibly driven by mergers. In an effort to compare their photometric properties with their rest frame optical morphologies, we obtained high spatial resolution (0.05 -0.1) Keck Adaptive Optics (AO) K-band images of 15 DOGs. The images reveal a wide range of morphologies, including: small exponential disks (8 of 15), small ellipticals (4 of 15), and unresolved sources (2 of 15). One particularly diffuse source could not be classified because of low signal to noise ratio. We find a statistically significant correlation between galaxy concentration and mid-IR luminosity, with the most luminous DOGs exhibiting higher concentration and smaller physical size. DOGs with high concentration also tend to have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) suggestive of AGN activity. Thus central AGN light may be biasing the morphologies of the more luminous DOGs to higher concentration. Conversely, more diffuse DOGs tend to show an SED shape suggestive of star formation. Two of fifteen in the sample show multiple resolved components with separations of ~1 kpc, circumstantial evidence for ongoing mergers.
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