Abridged: Using free-free emission measured in the Ka-band (26-40GHz) for 10 star-forming regions in the nearby galaxy NGC6946, including its starbursting nucleus, we compare a number of SFR diagnostics that are typically considered to be unaffected
by interstellar extinction: i.e., non-thermal radio (i.e., 1.4GHz), total infrared (IR; 8-1000um), and warm dust (i.e., 24um) emission, along with the hybrid (obscured + unobscured) indicators of Halpha+24um and UV+IR. The 33GHz free-free emission is assumed to provide the most accurate measure of the current SFR. Among the extranuclear star-forming regions, the 24um, Halpha+24um and UV+IR SFR calibrations are in good agreement with the 33GHz free-free SFRs. However, each of the SFR calibrations relying on some form of dust emission overestimate the nuclear SFR by a factor of ~2. This is more likely the result of excess dust heating through an accumulation of non-ionizing stars associated with an extended episode of star formation in the nucleus rather than increased competition for ionizing photons by dust. SFR calibrations using the non-thermal radio continuum yield values which only agree with the free-free SFRs for the nucleus, and underestimate the SFRs from the extranuclear star-forming regions by a factor of ~2. This result likely arises from the CR electrons decaying within the starburst region with negligible escape compared to the young extranuclear star-forming regions. Finally, we find that the SFRs estimated using the total 33GHz emission agree well with the free-free SFRs due to the large thermal fractions present at these frequencies even when local diffuse backgrounds are not removed. Thus, rest-frame 33GHz observations may act as a reliable method to measure the SFRs of galaxies at increasingly high redshift without the need of ancillary radio data to account for the non-thermal emission.
We present deep {it Spitzer} mid-infrared spectroscopy, along with 16, 24, 70, and 850,$micron$ photometry, for 22 galaxies located in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey-North (GOODS-N) field. The sample spans a redshift range of $0.6la z la
2.6$, 24~$mu$m flux densities between $sim$0.2$-$1.2 mJy, and consists of submillimeter galaxies (SMGs), X-ray or optically selected active galactic nuclei (AGN), and optically faint ($z_{AB}>25$,mag) sources. We find that infrared (IR; $8-1000~micron$) luminosities derived by fitting local spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with 24~$micron$ photometry alone are well matched to those when additional mid-infrared spectroscopic and longer wavelength photometric data is used for galaxies having $zla1.4$ and 24~$micron$-derived IR luminosities typically $la 3times 10^{12}~L_{sun}$. However, for galaxies in the redshift range between $1.4la z la 2.6$, typically having 24~$micron$-derived IR luminosities $ga 3times 10^{12}~L_{sun}$, IR luminosities are overestimated by an average factor of $sim$5 when SED fitting with 24~$micron$ photometry alone. This result arises partly due to the fact that high redshift galaxies exhibit aromatic feature equivalent widths that are large compared to local galaxies of similar luminosities. Through a spectral decomposition of mid-infrared spectroscopic data, we are able to isolate the fraction of IR luminosity arising from an AGN as opposed to star formation activity. This fraction is only able to account for $sim$30% of the total IR luminosity among the entire sample.
(abridged) We present a study on the effects of the intracluster medium (ICM) on the interstellar medium (ISM) of 10 Virgo cluster spiral galaxies using {it Spitzer} far-infrared (FIR) and VLA radio continuum imaging. Relying on the FIR-radio correla
tion within normal galaxies, we use our infrared data to create model radio maps which we compare to the observed radio images. For 6 of our sample galaxies we find regions along their outer edges that are highly deficient in the radio compared with our models. We believe these observations are the signatures of ICM ram pressure. For NGC 4522 we find the radio deficit region to lie just exterior to a region of high radio polarization and flat radio spectral index, although the total 20 cm radio continuum in this region does not appear strongly enhanced. These characteristics seem consistent for other galaxies with radio polarization data in the literature. The strength of the radio deficit is inversely correlated with the time since peak pressure as inferred from stellar population studies and gas stripping simulations, suggesting the strength of the radio deficit is good indicator of the strength of the current ram pressure. We also find that galaxies having {it local} radio {it deficits} appear to have {it enhanced global} radio fluxes. Our preferred physical picture is that the observed radio deficit regions arise from the ICM wind sweeping away cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and the associated magnetic field, thereby creating synchrotron tails as observed for some of our galaxies. We propose that CR particles are also re-accelerated by ICM-driven shocklets behind the observed radio deficit regions which in turn enhances the remaining radio disk brightness.
We present a study on the effects of the intracluster medium (ICM) on the interstellar medium (ISM) of 10 Virgo cluster galaxies using {it Spitzer} far-infrared (FIR) and VLA radio continuum imaging. Relying on the FIR-radio correlation {it within} n
ormal galaxies, we use our infrared data to create model radio maps which we compare to the observed radio images. For 6 of our sample galaxies we find regions along their outer edges that are highly deficient in the radio compared with our models. We believe these observations are the signatures of ICM ram pressure. For NGC 4522 we find the radio deficit region to lie just exterior to a region of high radio polarization and flat radio spectral index, however the total radio continuum in this region does not appear significantly enhanced. This scenario seems consistent for other galaxies with radio polarization data in the literature. We also find that galaxies having local radio deficits appear to have enhanced global radio fluxes. Our preferred physical picture is that the observed radio deficit regions arise from the ICM wind sweeping away cosmic-ray (CR) electrons and the associated magnetic field, thereby creating synchrotron tails observed for some of our galaxies. CR particles are also re-accelerated by ICM-driven shocklets behind the observed radio deficit regions which in turn enhances the remaining radio disk brightness. The high radio polarization and lack of coincidental signatures in the total synchrotron power in these regions arises from shear, and possibly mild compression, as the ICM wind drags and stretches the magnetic field.
