Welcome to the Twilight Zone: The Mid-infrared Properties of Post-starburst Galaxies
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Alatalo, Katherine; Bitsakis, Theodoros; Lanz, L; Lacy, Mark; Brown, M; French, K Decker; Ciesla, Laure; Appleton, P N; Beaton, Rachael; Cales, Sabrina L.; Kewley, Lisa; Medling, Anne; Urry, C M
Description
We investigate the optical and Wide-field Survey Explorer (WISE) colors of "E+A" identified post-starburst galaxies, including a deep analysis of 190 post-starbursts detected in the 2 μm All Sky Survey Extended Source Catalog. The post-starburst galaxies appear in both the optical green valley and the WISE Infrared Transition Zone. Furthermore, we find that post-starbursts occupy a distinct region of [3.4]–[4.6] versus [4.6]–[12] WISE colors, enabling the identification of this class of...[Show more]
dc.contributor.author | Alatalo, Katherine | |
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dc.contributor.author | Bitsakis, Theodoros | |
dc.contributor.author | Lanz, L | |
dc.contributor.author | Lacy, Mark | |
dc.contributor.author | Brown, M | |
dc.contributor.author | French, K Decker | |
dc.contributor.author | Ciesla, Laure | |
dc.contributor.author | Appleton, P N | |
dc.contributor.author | Beaton, Rachael | |
dc.contributor.author | Cales, Sabrina L. | |
dc.contributor.author | Kewley, Lisa | |
dc.contributor.author | Medling, Anne | |
dc.contributor.author | Urry, C M | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-12-20T20:58:30Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-12-20T20:58:30Z | |
dc.identifier.issn | 0004-637X | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/1885/218609 | |
dc.description.abstract | We investigate the optical and Wide-field Survey Explorer (WISE) colors of "E+A" identified post-starburst galaxies, including a deep analysis of 190 post-starbursts detected in the 2 μm All Sky Survey Extended Source Catalog. The post-starburst galaxies appear in both the optical green valley and the WISE Infrared Transition Zone. Furthermore, we find that post-starbursts occupy a distinct region of [3.4]–[4.6] versus [4.6]–[12] WISE colors, enabling the identification of this class of transitioning galaxies through the use of broadband photometric criteria alone. We have investigated possible causes for the WISE colors of post-starbursts by constructing a composite spectral energy distribution (SED), finding that the mid-infrared (4–12 μm) properties of post-starbursts are consistent with either 11.3 μm polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission, or thermally pulsating asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) and post-AGB stars. The composite SED of extended post-starburst galaxies with 22 μm emission detected with signal-to-noise ratio $\geqslant 3$ requires a hot dust component to produce their observed rising mid-infrared SED between 12 and 22 μm. The composite SED of WISE 22 μm non-detections (S/N < 3), created by stacking 22 μm images, is also flat, requiring a hot dust component. The most likely source of the mid-infrared emission of these E+A galaxies is a buried active galactic nucleus (AGN). The inferred upper limits to the Eddington ratios of post-starbursts are 10−2–10−4, with an average of 10−3. This suggests that AGNs are not radiatively dominant in these systems. This could mean that including selections capable of identifying AGNs as part of a search for transitioning and post-starburst galaxies would create a more complete census of the transition pathways taken as a galaxy quenches its star formation. | |
dc.format.mimetype | application/pdf | |
dc.language.iso | en_AU | |
dc.publisher | IOP Publishing | |
dc.source | The Astrophysical Journal | |
dc.title | Welcome to the Twilight Zone: The Mid-infrared Properties of Post-starburst Galaxies | |
dc.type | Journal article | |
local.description.notes | Imported from ARIES | |
local.identifier.citationvolume | 843 | |
dc.date.issued | 2017 | |
local.identifier.absfor | 020104 - Galactic Astronomy | |
local.identifier.ariespublication | a383154xPUB7395 | |
local.type.status | Published Version | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Alatalo, Katherine, Observatories of the Carnegie Institution of Washington | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Bitsakis, Theodoros, California Institute of Technology | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Lanz, L, California Institute of Technology | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Lacy, Mark, National Radio Astronomy Observatory | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Brown, M , Monash University | |
local.contributor.affiliation | French, K Decker, University of Arizona | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Ciesla, Laure, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Appleton, P N, California Institute of Technology | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Beaton, Rachael, The Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Cales, Sabrina L., Yale University | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Kewley, Lisa, College of Science, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Medling, Anne, College of Science, ANU | |
local.contributor.affiliation | Urry, C M, Yale University | |
local.bibliographicCitation.issue | 1 | |
local.identifier.doi | 10.3847/1538-4357/aa72eb | |
dc.date.updated | 2020-11-23T11:27:26Z | |
local.identifier.scopusID | 2-s2.0-85021711596 | |
local.identifier.thomsonID | 000404347000009 | |
Collections | ANU Research Publications |
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