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Published June 2009 | Published
Journal Article Open

High-Redshift Dust Obscured Galaxies: A Morphology-Spectral Energy Distribution Connection Revealed by Keck Adaptive Optics

Abstract

A simple optical to mid-IR color selection, R – [24]>14, i.e., f_ν(24 μm)/f_ν(R) ≳ 1000, identifies highly dust obscured galaxies (DOGs) with typical redshifts of z ~ 2 ± 0.5. Extreme mid-IR luminosities (L_(IR) > 10^(12-14)) suggest that DOGs are powered by a combination of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star formation, possibly driven by mergers. In an effort to compare their photometric properties with their rest-frame optical morphologies, we obtained high-spatial resolution (0."05-0."1) Keck Adaptive Optics K'-band images of 15 DOGs. The images reveal a wide range of morphologies, including small exponential disks (eight of 15), small ellipticals (four of 15), and unresolved sources (two of 15). One particularly diffuse source could not be classified because of low signal-to-noise ratio. We find a statistically significant correlation between galaxy concentration and mid-IR luminosity, with the most luminous DOGs exhibiting higher concentration and smaller physical size. DOGs with high concentration also tend to have spectral energy distributions (SEDs) suggestive of AGN activity. Thus, central AGN light may be biasing the morphologies of the more luminous DOGs to higher concentration. Conversely, more diffuse DOGs tend to show an SED shape suggestive of star formation. Two of 15 in the sample show multiple resolved components with separations of ~1 kpc, circumstantial evidence for ongoing mergers.

Additional Information

© 2009 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2008 November 6; accepted 2009 March 28; published 2009 April 29. The adaptive optics data presented here in were obtained at the Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among Caltech, UC, and NASA. The authors recognize and acknowledge the very significant cultural role and reverence that the summit of Mauna Kea has always had within the indigenous Hawaiian community. The laser guide star adaptive optics system was funded by the W. M. Keck Foundation. This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the California Institute of Technology under a NASA contract. Support for this work was provided by NASA through awards issued by JPL/Caltech. We are especially grateful to the IRAC Shallow Survey team (PI: Peter Eisenhardt) for providing observations in the Bootes field. We are grateful to the expert assistance of the staff of Kitt Peak National Observatory where the ground-based Bootes field observations of the NDWFS were obtained. The authors thank NOAO for supporting the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey. The research activities of AD and BTJ are supported by NOAO, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) under a cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation.

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August 21, 2023
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