We have performed 23 GHz VLA observations of 7 compact, luminous infrared galaxies, selected to have evidence of starburst activity. New and published multi-frequency data are combined to obtain the spectral energy distributions of all 7 galaxies from the near-infrared to the radio (at 1.4 GHz). These SEDs are compared with new models, for dust enshrouded galaxies, which account for both starburst and AGN components. In all 7 galaxies the starburst provides the dominant contribution to the infrared luminosity; in 4 sources no contribution from an AGN is required. Although AGN may contribute up to 50 percent of the total far--infrared emission, the starbursts always dominate in the radio. The SEDs of most of our sources are best fit with a very high optical depth of (>=50) at 1 micron. The scatter in the far-infrared/radio correlation, found among luminous IRAS sources, is due mainly to the different evolutionary status of their starburst components. The short time-scale of the star formation process amplifies the delay between the far-infrared and radio emission. This becomes more evident at low radio frequencies (below about 1 GHz) where synchrotron radiation is the dominant process. In the far-infrared (at wavelengths shorter than 100 micron) an additional source of scatter is provided by AGN, where present. AGN may be detected in the near-infrared by the absence of the knee, typical of stellar photospheres. However, near-infrared data alone cannot constrain the level at which AGN contribute because the interpretation of their observed properties, in this wave-band, depends strongly on model parameters.
Modelling the Spectral Energy Distribution of compact luminous infrared galaxies: Constraints from high frequency radio data / Prouton, O. R.; Bressan, A.; Clemens, M.; Franceschini, A.; Granato, G. L.; Silva, L.. - In: ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS. - ISSN 0004-6361. - 421:1(2004), pp. 115-127.
Titolo: | Modelling the Spectral Energy Distribution of compact luminous infrared galaxies: Constraints from high frequency radio data |
Autori: | Prouton, O. R.; Bressan, A.; Clemens, M.; Franceschini, A.; Granato, G. L.; Silva, L. |
Rivista: | |
Data di pubblicazione: | 2004 |
Volume: | 421 |
Fascicolo: | 1 |
Pagina iniziale: | 115 |
Pagina finale: | 127 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI): | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20035679 |
Fulltext via DOI: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20035679 |
URL: | https://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0403581 |
Appare nelle tipologie: | 1.1 Journal article |