| Description |
Luminous Infrared Galaxies (LIRGs; having LIR > 10^11 Lsun), emit a significant fraction of their bolometric luminosity in the far-infrared and are a mixture of single galaxies, interacting systems and advanced mergers, exhibiting enhanced star formation rates and a higher fraction of Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) compared to less luminous galaxies. With the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS), we are measuring the properties of a large, complete sample of 202 low-redshift LIRGs across the electromagnetic spectrum using Spitzer, HST, Chandra, GALEX and a number of ground-based observatories. Here, we propose to measure the [CII] 157.7, [OI] 63.2 and [OIII] 88 micron far-infrared emission lines and the OH 79 micron absorption feature in the GOALS sample with the PACS on the Herschel Space Observatory. We will target 154 LIRGs in [CII], [OI], and OH and 66 LIRGs in [OIII] for a total requested time of 166.9 hrs. The PACS data will allow us to penetrate the dust and measure the spatial distribution, dynamics and overall energy budgets in a large sample of LIRGs at low redshift for the first time. In addition to providing a measure of the physical conditions in the warm, neutral and ionized interstellar medium (ISM) in LIRGs, these data will allow us to establish a precise, quantitative FIR-based measure of the star formation rate that can be used across a wide range of galactic luminosities, even in the presence of powerful AGN. GOALS, with its rich ancillary dataset that covers X-ray through millimeter wavelengths, provides the perfect sample for this study. Our proposed observations will greatly extend the work started with ISO, and lay the foundation for high-redshift galactic studies with future facilities (e.g., ALMA) that will target the FIR and sub-mm spectral regions over the next decade. |
| Publication |
A Herschel-PACS Far-infrared Line Emission Survey of Local Luminous Infrared Galaxies . Díaz-Santos T. et al. . The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 846, Issue 1, article id. 32, 22 pp. (2017). . 846 . 10.3847/1538-4357/aa81d7 . 2017ApJ...846...32D ,
Far-infrared Line Spectra of Active Galaxies from the Herschel-PACS Spectrometer: The Complete Database . Fernández-Ontiveros Juan Antonio et al. . The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series, Volume 226, Issue 2, article id. 19, 26 pp. (2016). . 226 . 10.3847/0067-0049/226/2/19 . 2016ApJS..226...19F ,
Regulating Star Formation in Nearby Dusty Galaxies: Low Photoelectric Efficiencies in the Most Compact Systems . McKinney J. et al. . The Astrophysical Journal . null . null . 2021ApJ...908..238M ,
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