No Arabic abstract
(Abridged) We discuss the nature of the galaxies found in the Pico dos Dias Survey (PDS) for young stellar objects. The PDS galaxies were selected from the IRAS Point Source catalog. They have flux density of moderate or high quality at 12, 25 and 60 $mu$m and spectral indices in the ranges $-3.00 leq alpha(25,12) leq +0.35$ and $-2.50 leq alpha(60,25) leq +0.85$. These criteria allowed the detection of 382 galaxies, which are a mixture of starburst and Seyfert galaxies. The starburst galaxies show an excess of FIR luminosity and their IRAS colors are significantly different from those of Seyfert galaxies -- 99% of the starburst galaxies in our sample have a spectral index $alpha(60,25) < -1.9$. As opposed to Seyfert galaxies, very few PDS starbursts are detected in X-rays. In the infrared, the starburst galaxies form a continuous sequence with normal galaxies. But they generally can be distinguished from normal galaxies by their spectral index $alpha(60,25) > -2.5$. This color cut--off also marks a change in the dominant morphologies of the galaxies: the normal IRAS galaxies are preferentially late--type spirals (Sb and later), while the starbursts are more numerous among early--type spirals (earlier than Sbc). No difference is found between the starbursts detected in the FIR and those detected on the basis of UV excess. The PDS starburst galaxies represent the FIR luminous branch of the UV-bright starburst nucleus galaxies, with mean FIR luminosity $log({rm L}_{rm IR}/{rm L}_odot) = 10.3 pm 0.5$ and redshifts smaller than 0.1. They form a complete sample limited in flux in the FIR at $2times10^{-10}$ erg cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$.
Star-formation and the Starburst phenomenon are presented with respect to a number of nearby star-forming galaxies where our understanding of the process can be calibrated. Methods of estimating star-formation rates are discussed together with the role played in the investigation of the process by multi-wavelength studies of a few selected starburst galaxies (especially the well studied galaxy M82). Our understanding of nearby systems allows us to study the star-formation history of the Universe by observing high-redshift starburst galaxies. These begin to dominate the radio source populations at centimetric wavelengths at flux densities below a few 10s of Jy. New very sensitive, high resolution telescopes in the sub-mm and radio will revolutionize our understanding of these distant star-forming systems, some of which may contain embedded AGN.
We use two catalogues, a Herschel catalogue selected at 500 mu (HerMES) and an IRAS catalogue selected at 60 mu (RIFSCz), to contrast the sky at these two wavelengths. Both surveys demonstrate the existence of extreme starbursts, with star-formation rates (SFRs) > 5000 Msun/yr. The maximum intrinsic star-formation rate appears to be ~30,000 Msun/yr. The sources with apparent SFR estimates higher than this are in all cases either lensed systems, blazars, or erroneous photometric redshifts. At redshifts of 3 to 5, the time-scale for the Herschel galaxies to make their current mass of stars at their present rate of formation ~ 10^8 yrs, so these galaxies are making a significant fraction of their stars in the current star-formation episode. Using dust mass as a proxy for gas mass, the Herschel galaxies at redshift 3 to 5 have gas masses comparable to their mass in stars. Of the 38 extreme starbursts in our Herschel survey for which we have more complete SED information, over 50% show evidence for QSO-like optical emission, or exhibit AGN dust tori in the mid-infrared SEDs. In all cases however the infrared luminosity is dominated by a starburst component. We derive a mean covering factor for AGN dust as a function of redshift and derive black hole masses and black hole accretion rates. There is a universal ratio of black-hole mass to stellar mass, ~ 10^{-3}, driven by the strong period of star-formation and black-hole growth at z = 1-5.
Post-starburst (E+A or k+a) spectra, characterized by their exceptionally strong Balmer lines in absorption and the lack of emission lines, belong to galaxies in which the star formation activity ended abruptly sometime during the past Gyr. We perform a spectral analysis of galaxies in clusters, groups, poor groups and the field at z=0.4-0.8 based on the ESO Distant Cluster Survey. The incidence of k+as at these redshifts depends strongly on environment. K+as reside preferentially in clusters and, unexpectedly, in a subset of the sigma = 200-400 km/s groups, those that have a low fraction of [OII] emitters. In these environments, 20-30% of the recently star-forming galaxies have had their star formation activity recently truncated. In contrast, there are proportionally fewer k+as in the field, the poor groups and groups with a high [OII] fraction. The incidence of k+a galaxies correlates with the cluster velocity dispersion: more massive clusters have higher proportions of k+as. Spectra of dusty starburst candidates, with strong Balmer absorption and emission lines, present a very different environmental dependence from k+as. They are numerous in all environments at z=0.4-0.8, but they are especially numerous in all types of groups, favoring the hypothesis of triggering by a merger. Our observations are consistent with previous suggestions that cluster k+a galaxies are observed in a transition phase as massive S0 and Sa galaxies, evolving from star-forming later types to passively evolving early-type galaxies. The correlation between k+a fraction and cluster sigma supports the hypothesis that k+a galaxies in clusters originate from processes related to the intracluster medium, while several possibilities are discussed for the origin of the k+a frequency in low-[OII] groups.(abr.)
In this paper the current status of gamma-ray observations of starburst galaxies from hundreds of MeV up to TeV energies with space-based instruments and ground-based Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) is summarised. The properties of the high-energy (HE; 100 MeV < E < 100 GeV) and very-high-energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) emission of the archetypical starburst galaxies M 82 and NGC 253 are discussed and put into context with the HE gamma-ray emission detected from other galaxies that show enhanced star-formation activity such as NGC 4945 and NGC 1068. Finally, prospects to study the star-formation - gamma-ray emission connection from Galactic systems to entire galaxies with the forthcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) are outlined.
About 35 years ago a class of galaxies with unusually strong Balmer absorption lines and weak emission lines was discovered in distant galaxy clusters. These objects, alternatively referred to as post-starburst, E+A or k+a galaxies, are now known to occur in all environments and at all redshifts, with many exhibiting compact morphologies and low-surface brightness features indicative of past galaxy mergers. They are commonly thought to represent galaxies that are transitioning from blue to red sequence, making them critical to our understanding of the origins of galaxy bimodality. However, recent observational studies have questioned this simple interpretation. From observations alone, it is challenging to disentangle the different mechanisms that lead to the quenching of star formation in galaxies. Here we present examples of three different evolutionary pathways that lead to galaxies with strong Balmer absorption lines in the EAGLE simulation: classical blue-to-red quenching, blue-to-blue cycle and red-to-red rejuvenation. The first two are found in both post-starburst galaxies and galaxies with truncated star formation. Each pathway is consistent with scenarios hypothesised for observational samples. The fact that post-starburst signatures can be attained via various evolutionary channels explains the diversity of observed properties, and lends support to the idea that slower quenching channels are important at low redshift.