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Register a new userAnomalous Hydrogen Recombination-Line Ratios in Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies
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We conducted systematic observations of the H I Br$alpha$ (4.05 $mu$m) and Br$beta$ (2.63 $mu$m) lines in 52 nearby ($z<0.3$) ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with AKARI. Among 33 ULIRGs wherein the lines are detected, three galaxies show anomalous Br$beta$/Br$alpha$ line ratios ($sim1.0$), which are significantly higher than those for case B (0.565). Our observations also show that ULIRGs have a tendency to exhibit higher Br$beta$/Br$alpha$ line ratios than those observed in Galactic H II regions. The high Br$beta$/Br$alpha$ line ratios cannot be explained by a combination of dust extinction and case B since dust extinction reduces the ratio. We explore possible causes for the high Br$beta$/Br$alpha$ line ratios and show that the observed ratios can be explained by a combination of an optically thick Br$alpha$ line and an optically thin Br$beta$ line. We simulated the H II regions in ULIRGs with the Cloudy code, and our results show that the high Br$beta$/Br$alpha$ line ratios can be explained by high-density conditions, wherein the Br$alpha$ line becomes optically thick. To achieve a column density large enough to make the Br$alpha$ line optically thick within a single H II region, the gas density must be as high as $nsim10^8$ $mathrm{cm}^{-3}$. We therefore propose an ensemble of H II regions, in each of which the Br$alpha$ line is optically thick, to explain the high Br$beta$/Br$alpha$ line ratio.
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We report medium resolution VLT ISAAC K-band spectroscopy of the nuclei of seven ultraluminous infrared galaxies. After accounting for stellar absorption features, we have detected several molecular hydrogen (H_2) v=1-0, 2-1, and 3-2 vibrational emission lines, as well as the HI Brgamma and HeI 2^1P-2^1S recombination lines. The relative H_2 line intensities show little variation between the objects, suggesting that the H_2 excitation mechanisms in the nuclei are similar in all the objects. The 1-0 emissions appear thermalised at temperatures Tsim1000K. However, the 2-1 and 3-2 emissions show evidence of being radiatively excited by far-ultraviolet (FUV) photons, suggesting that the H_2 excitation in the ULIRGs may arise in dense photon dominated regions (PDRs). We show that the line ratios in the nuclei are consistent with PDRs with cloud densities between 10^4 to 10^5cm^{-3}, exposed to far ultraviolet (FUV) radiation fields at least 10^3 times more intense than the ambient FUV intensity in the local interstellar medium. We have constructed starburst models for the ULIRGs based on their H_2 properties, as well as on the intensities of the recombination lines. Our models provide a consistent picture of young 1-5Myr star clusters surrounded by relatively dense PDRs which are irradiated by intense FUV fluxes. Comparison to the inner few hundred parsecs of the Milky Way indicates that the star formation efficiency in ULIRGs is 10--100 times higher than in the Galactic Center.
Centaurus A (Cen A) is one of the most famous galaxies hosting an active galactic nucleus (AGN), where the interaction between AGN activities and surrounding interstellar and intergalactic media has been investigated. Recent studies reported detections of the H{alpha} emission from clouds in the galactic halo toward the northeast and southwest of the nucleus of Cen A, suggesting that AGN jets may have triggered star formation there. We performed near-infrared line mapping of Cen A with the IRSF 1.4-m telescope, using the narrow-band filter tuned for Pa{beta}, from which we find that the Pa{beta} emission is not detected significantly from either northeast or southwest regions. The upper limit of the Pa{beta}/H{alpha} ratio in the northeast region is compatible with that expected for a typical HII region, in line with the scenario that AGNs have triggered star formation there. On the other hand, the upper limit of Pa{beta}/H{alpha} in the southwest region is significantly lower than that expected for a typical HII region. A possibility to explain the low Pa{beta}/H{alpha} ratio in the southwest region is the scattering of H{alpha} and Pa{beta} photons from the center of Cen A by dust grains in the halo clouds. From the upper limit of Pa{beta}/H{alpha} in the southwest region, we obtain constraints on the dust size distribution, which is found to be compatible with those seen in the interstellar medium of our Galaxy.
We present Herschel observations of six fine-structure lines in 25 Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies at z<0.27. The lines, [O III]52, [N III]57, [O I]63, [N II]122, [O I]145, and [C II]158, are mostly single gaussians with widths <600 km s-1 and luminosities of 10^7 - 10^9 Solar. There are deficits in the [O I]63/L_IR, [N II]/L_IR, [O I]145/L_IR, and [C II]/L_IR ratios compared to lower luminosity systems. The majority of the line deficits are consistent with dustier H II regions, but part of the [C II] deficit may arise from an additional mechanism, plausibly charged dust grains. This is consistent with some of the [C II] originating from PDRs or the ISM. We derive relations between far-IR line luminosities and both IR luminosity and star formation rate. We find that [N II] and both [O I] lines are good tracers of IR luminosity and star formation rate. In contrast, [C II] is a poor tracer of IR luminosity and star formation rate, and does not improve as a tracer of either quantity if the [C II] deficit is accounted for. The continuum luminosity densities also correlate with IR luminosity and star formation rate. We derive ranges for the gas density and ultraviolet radiation intensity of 10^1 < n < 10^2.5 and 10^2.2 < G_0 < 10^3.6, respectively. These ranges depend on optical type, the importance of star formation, and merger stage. We do not find relationships between far-IR line properties and several other parameters; AGN activity, merger stage, mid-IR excitation, and SMBH mass. We conclude that these far-IR lines arise from gas heated by starlight, and that they are not strongly influenced by AGN activity.
The physical conditions in typical starburst galaxies are investigated through critical infrared (IR) line ratios, as previously suggested by Lutz et al. (1998, A&A, 333, L75). The calculations by a composite model which consistently accounts for the coupled effect of shock and photoionization by hot stars definitely fit the observed line ratios of single objects and explain the observed relation between [OIV]/([NeII]+0.44[NeIII]) and [NeIII]/[NeII]. The shock velocity and the gas density are the critical parameters. Most of the shocks are produced in low density-velocity (n_0 = 100 cm-3 and V_s = 50 - 100 km/s) clouds which represent the bulk of the ionized gas in starburst galaxies. However, though they are by many orders less numerous, high-velocity (= 400 - 600 km/s) shocks in dense (= 500 - 800 cm-3) clouds are necessary to reproduce the critical IR line ratios observed in the low-excitation Starburst Nucleus Galaxies (SBNGs: M82, M83, NGC 253, NGC 3256, NGC 3690, and NGC 4945). These model predictions are in good agreement with the powerful starburst-driven superwinds and highly pressured ISM observed in SBNGs. On the contrary, the high-excitation HII galaxies (II Zw 40 and NGC 5253) do not show any clear signature of large scale outflows of gas. This difference between HII galaxies and SBNGs can be interpreted in terms of temporal evolution of their starbursts.
We present a new catalog of 118 Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) and one Hyperluminous Infrared Galaxy (HLIRG) by crossmatching AKARI all-sky survey with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 10 (SDSS DR10) and the Final Data Release of the Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey (2dFGRS). 40 of the ULIRGs and one HLIRG are new identifications. We find that ULIRGs are interacting pair galaxies or ongoing/post mergers. This is consistent with the widely accepted view: ULIRGs are major mergers of disk galaxies. We confirm the previously known positive trend between the AGN fraction and IR luminosity. We show that ULIRGs have a large off-set from the main sequence up to z~1; their off-set from the z~2 main sequence is relatively smaller. We find a consistent result with the previous studies showing that compared to local star forming SDSS galaxies of similar mass, local ULIRGs have lower oxygen abundances. We for the first time demonstrate that ULIRGs follow the fundamental metallicity relation (FMR). The scatter of ULIRGs around the FMR (0.09 dex - 0.5 dex) is comparable with the scatter of z~2-3 galaxies. Their optical colors show that ULIRGs are mostly blue galaxies and this agrees with previous findings. We provide the largest local (0.050 < z < 0.487) ULIRG catalog with stellar masses, SFRs, gas metallicities and optical colors. Our catalog provides us active galaxies analogous to high-z galaxies in the local Universe where they can be rigorously scrutinized.
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