1. Characterizing Compact 15â€"33 GHz Radio Continuum Sources in Local U/LIRGs.
- Author
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Song, Y., Linden, S. T., Evans, A. S., Barcos-Muñoz, L., Murphy, E. J., Momjian, E., DĂ-az-Santos, T., Larson, K. L., Privon, G. C., Huang, X., Armus, L., Mazzarella, J. M., U, V., Inami, H., Charmandaris, V., Ricci, C., Emig, K. L., McKinney, J., Yoon, I., and Kunneriath, D.
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INTERSTELLAR medium , *ACTIVE galactic nuclei , *STARBURSTS , *STAR formation - Abstract
We present the analysis of âĽ100 pc scale compact radio continuum sources detected in 63 local (ultra)luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs; L IR ≥ 1011 L ⊙), using FWHM ≲ 0.″1â€"0.″2 resolution 15 and 33 GHz observations with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array. We identify a total of 133 compact radio sources with effective radii of 8â€"170 pc, which are classified into four main categoriesâ€"“AGN” (active galactic nuclei), “AGN/SBnuc” (AGN-starburst composite nucleus), “SBnuc” (starburst nucleus), and “SF” (star-forming clumps)â€"based on ancillary data sets and the literature. We find that “AGN” and “AGN/SBnuc” more frequently occur in late-stage mergers and have up to 3 dex higher 33 GHz luminosities and surface densities compared with “SBnuc” and “SF,” which may be attributed to extreme nuclear starburst and/or AGN activity in the former. Star formation rates (SFRs) and surface densities (ÎŁSFR) are measured for “SF” and “SBnuc” using both the total 33 GHz continuum emission (SFR ⼠0.14â€"13 M ⊙ yrâ'1, ÎŁSFR ⼠13â€"1600 M ⊙ yrâ'1 kpcâ'2) and the thermal freeâ€"free emission from H ii regions (median SFRth ⼠0.4 M ⊙ yrâ'1, ÎŁ SFR th ⼠44 M ⊙ yrâ'1 kpcâ'2). These values are 1â€"2 dex higher than those measured for similar-sized clumps in nearby normal (non-U/LIRGs). The latter also have a much flatter median 15â€"33 GHz spectral index (âĽâ'0.08) compared with “SBnuc” and “SF” (âĽâ'0.46), which may reflect higher nonthermal contribution from supernovae and/or interstellar medium densities in local U/LIRGs that directly result from and/or lead to their extreme star-forming activities on 100 pc scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2022
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