| Description |
We propose to obtain high-quality, PACS (70, 100, 160 micron) and SPIRE (250, 360, 520 micron) images of a complete sample of 201 local (z<0.08) luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) from the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). These systems are primarily interacting or merging disk galaxies undergoing enhanced star formation and AGN activity, and represent an important evolutionary phase in the lives of massive galaxies. Herschel will measure a critical wavelength range of the FIR/submm spectral energy distribution (SED), which will enable accurate determinations of bolometric luminosities, dust temperatures, IR surface brightness and star-formation rates within the GOALS targets on spatial scales of 2-5kpc. The high-resolution PACS data will better resolve binary nuclear regions, disks, and tidal bridges and tails of colliding galaxies at different interaction stages. SPIRE will probe the hidden cold component of the ISM and will constrain the total amount of gas and dust available to fuel the starburst and AGN activity. Studies of the FIR-submm SEDs will allow us to derive the relative amounts of warm and cold dust along the merger sequence. The proximity, size, and completeness of the GOALS sample makes it well suited for studying the full range of infrared properties for LIRGs as a function of dynamical age, infrared luminosity, spectral type and merger phase. Finally, this Herschel program will provide crucial statistical results for LIRGs and ULIRGs that will enable researchers to understand high-redshift infrared galaxies in the context of local, well-resolved objects. |
