Aromatic Features in AGNs: Star-forming Infrared Luminosity Function of AGN Host Galaxies
Abstract
We describe observations of aromatic features at 7.7 and 11.3 μm in AGNs of three types, including PG, 2MASS, and 3CR objects. The feature has been demonstrated to originate predominantly from star formation. Based on the aromatic-derived star-forming luminosity, we find that the far-IR emission of AGNs can be dominated by either star formation or nuclear emission; the average contribution from star formation is around 25% at 70 and 160 μm. The star-forming infrared luminosity functions of the three types of AGNs are flatter than those of field galaxies, implying that nuclear activity and star formation tend to be enhanced together. The star-forming luminosity function is also a function of the strength of nuclear activity from normal galaxies to the bright quasars, with luminosity functions becoming flatter for more intense nuclear activity. Different types of AGNs show different distributions in the level of star formation activity, with 2MASS > PG > 3CR star formation rates.
Additional Information
© 2007 American Astronomical Society. Print publication: Issue 2 (2007 November 10); received 2007 April 19; accepted for publication 2007 July 11. We thank J. D. Smith for helpful suggestions and the anonymous referee for detailed comments. Support for this work is provided by NASA through contracts 1255094 and 1256424 issued by JPL/California Institute of Technology. This work is based on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. This research has made use of the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED), which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This publication makes use of data products from the Two Micron All Sky Survey, which is a joint project of the University of Massachusetts and the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the National Science Foundation.Attached Files
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 17462
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20100211-153233106
- 1255094
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- 1256424
- NASA/JPL/Caltech
- Created
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2010-02-12Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-08Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC)