Dr Aprajita Verma

Abstract:

We present results from a deep mid-infrared survey of the Hubble Deep Field South (HDF-S) region performed at 6.7 and 15 μm with the ISOCAM instrument on board the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO). We find reliable optical/near-infrared associations for 32 of the 35 sources detected in this field by Oliver et al. (Paper I): eight of them are identified as stars, one is definitely an active galactic nucleus (AGN), a second seems likely to be an AGN too, while the remaining 22 appear to be normal spiral or starburst galaxies. Using model spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of similar galaxies, we compare methods for estimating the star formation rates (SFRs) in these objects, finding that an estimator based on integrated (3-1000 μm) infrared luminosity reproduces the model SFRs best. Applying this estimator to model fits to the SEDs of our 22 spiral and starburst galaxies, we find that they are forming stars at rates of ∼ 1-100M⊙yr-1, with a median value of ∼40M⊙yr-1, assuming an Einstein-de Sitter universe with a Hubble constant of 50km s-1 Mpc-1, and star formation taking place according to a Salpeter initial mass function (IMF) across the mass range 0.1-100 M⊙. We split the redshift range 0.0 ≤ z ≤ 0.6 into two equal-volume bins to compute raw estimates of the star formation rate density, ṗ*, contributed by these sources, assuming the same cosmology and IMF as above and computing errors based on estimated uncertainties in the SFRs of individual galaxies. We compare these results with other estimates of ṗ* made with the same assumptions, showing them to be consistent with the results of Flores et al. from their ISO survey of the CFRS 1415+52 field. However, the relatively small volume of our survey means that our ṗ* estimates suffer from a large sampling variance, implying that our results, by themselves, do not place tight constraints on the global mean star formation rate density.

Abstract:

We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 I-band imaging for a sample of nine hyperluminous infrared galaxies (HLIRGs) spanning a redshift range 0.45 < z < 1.34. Three of the sample have morphologies showing evidence for interactions and six are quasi-stellar objects (QSOs). Host galaxies in the QSOs are detected reliably out to z ∼ 0.8. The detected QSO host galaxies have an elliptical morphology with scalelengths spanning 6.5 < re (kpc) < 88 and absolute k-corrected magnitudes spanning −24.5 < MI < −25.2. There is no clear correlation between the infrared (IR) power source and the optical morphology. None of the sources in the sample, including F15307+3252, shows any evidence for gravitational lensing. We infer that the IR luminosities are thus real. Based on these results, and previous studies of HLIRGs, we conclude that this class of object is broadly consistent with being a simple extrapolation of the ULIRG population to higher luminosities; ULIRGs being mainly violently interacting systems powered by starbursts and/or active galactic nuclei. Only a small number of sources, the infrared luminosities of which exceed 1013 L⊙, are intrinsically less luminous objects that have been boosted by gravitational lensing.

Abstract:

We present deep optical and near infrared imaging over half square degree of sky in the centres of the ELAIS regions N1 and N2 and coincident with deep XMM/Chandra observations. The data have been obtained with the Wide Field Camera (WFC) and the Cambridge InfraRed Survey Instrument (CIRSI) both at the Isaac Newton Telescope (Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, Canary Islands). Limiting magnitudes achieved are g'=26.7, r'=26.2, i'=25.0 and H=20.2 (3σ). These data have been used to identify the faint optical counterparts of the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), radio and X-ray sources in these areas.

Abstract:

We present the properties of all the galaxies detected by ISO at 7, 15 and 90μm in ELAIS northern fields. The spectral energy distribution (SED) of those 20 galaxies with IRAS detections can generally be well fitted by a predominant cirrus component plus a modest starburst contribution. Follow-up spectroscopy has shown that all the objects are emission-line galaxies but without a very intense star formation event. Most of the galaxies analyzed by means of optical R band photometry result to host an important exponential disk component, in good agreement with the SED IR modelling. We note that galaxies with morphological signs of perturbations seem to show slightly higher f15/f6.7 ratios, indicating that star formation could be more important in them. One of the objects is a broad-line, radio-quiet quasar at z=1.099; its spectral energy distribution indicates that it is a hyperluminous infrared galaxy (HLIG), the first HLIG detected in the ELAIS areas.

Abstract:

We present preliminary results of multi-object spectroscopy of new mid-, and far-infrared selected galaxies detected in the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS). The data have been obtained with the fibre spectrographs WYFFOS at the William Herschel Telescope (Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, ORM, Canary Islands) and Hydra at the WIYN Telescope (Kitt Peak Observatory, Arizona). The sample includes ISO sources detected at 7, 15 and 90 μm and radio sources from our deep VLA survey in the ELAIS areas.