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Duncan Farrah

Publications and source records attributed to Duncan Farrah.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Star Formation in Luminous Quasars at 2<z<3

We investigate the relation between star formation rates ($\dot{M}_{s}$) and AGN properties in optically selected type 1 quasars at $2<z<3$ using data from Herschel and the SDSS. We find that $\dot{\rm{M}}_s$ remains approximately constant with redshift, at $300\pm100~\rm{M}_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. Conversely, $\dot{\rm{M}}_s$ increases with AGN luminosity, up to a maximum of $\sim600~\rm{M}_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$, and with CIV FWHM. In context with previous results, this is consistent with a relation between $\dot{\rm{M}}_s$ and black hole accretion rate ($\dot{\rm{M}}_{bh}$) existing in only parts of the $z-\dot{\rm{M}}_{s}-\dot{\rm{M}}_{bh}$ plane, dependent on the free gas fraction, the trigger for activity, and the processes that may quench star formation. The relations between $\dot{\rm{M}}_s$ and both AGN luminosity and CIV FWHM are consistent with star formation rates in quasars scaling with black hole mass, though we cannot rule out a separate relation with black hole accretion rate. Star formation rates are observed to decline with increasing CIV equivalent width. This decline can be partially explained via the Baldwin effect, but may have an additional contribution from one or more of three factors; $M_i$ is not a linear tracer of L$_{2500}$, the Baldwin effect changes form at high AGN luminosities, and high CIV EW values signpost a change in the relation between $\dot{\rm{M}}_s$ and $\dot{\rm{M}}_{bh}$. Finally, there is no strong relation between $\dot{\rm{M}}_s$ and Eddington ratio, or the asymmetry of the CIV line. The former suggests that star formation rates do not scale with how efficiently the black hole is accreting, while the latter is consistent with CIV asymmetries arising from orientation effects.

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Modified Dark Matter

Modified dark matter (MDM, formerly known as MoNDian dark matter) is a phenomenological model of dark matter, inspired by quantum gravity. We review the construction of MDM by generalizing entropic gravity to de-Sitter space as is appropriate for an accelerating universe (in accordance with the Lambda-CDM model). Unlike cold dark matter models, the MDM mass profile depends on the baryonic mass. We successfully fit the rotation curves to a sample of 30 local spiral galaxies with a single free parameter (viz., the mass-to-light ratio for each galaxy). We show that dynamical and observed masses agree in a sample of 93 galactic clusters. We also comment on strong gravitational lensing in the context of MDM.

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The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: Multi-wavelengths counterparts to 10$^3$ submillimeter galaxies in the UKIDSS-UDS field

We present multiwavelength identifications for the counterparts of 1088 submillimeter sources detected at 850$μ$m in the SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey study of the UKIDSS-UDS field. By utilising an ALMA pilot study on a subset of our bright SCUBA-2 sample as a training set, along with the deep optical-near-infrared data available in this field, we develop a novel technique, Optical-IR Triple Color (OIRTC), using $z-K$, $K-[3.6]$, $[3.6]-[4.5]$ colors to select the candidate submillimeter galaxy (SMG) counterparts. By combining radio identification and the OIRTC technique, we find counterpart candidates for 80% of the Class = 1 $\geq4\,σ$ SCUBA-2 sample, defined as those that are covered by both radio and OIR imaging and the base sample for our scientific analyses. Based on the ALMA training set, we expect the accuracy of these identifications to be $82\pm20$%, with a completeness of $69\pm16$%, essentially as accurate as the traditional $p$-value technique but with higher completeness. We find that the fraction of SCUBA-2 sources having candidate counterparts is lower for fainter 850$μ$m sources, and we argue that for follow-up observations sensitive to SMGs with $S_{850}\gtrsim 1$ mJy across the whole ALMA beam, the fraction with multiple counterparts is likely to be $>40$% for SCUBA-2 sources at $S_{850} \gtrsim 4$ mJy. We find that the photometric redshift distribution for the SMGs is well fit by a lognormal distribution, with a median redshift of $z=2.3\pm0.1$. After accounting for the sources without any radio and/or OIRTC counterpart, we estimate the median redshift to be $z=2.6\pm0.1$ for SMGs with $S_{850} >1$ mJy. We also use this new large sample to study the clustering of SMGs and the the far-infrared properties of the unidentified submillimeter sources by stacking their Herschel SPIRE far-infrared emission.

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Testing Modified Dark Matter with Galaxy Clusters: Does Dark Matter know about the Cosmological Constant?

We discuss the possibility that the cold dark matter mass profiles contain information on the cosmological constant, and that such information constrains the nature of cold dark matter (CDM). We call this approach Modified Dark Matter (MDM). In particular, we examine the ability of MDM to explain the observed mass profiles of 13 galaxy clusters. Using general arguments from gravitational thermodynamics, we provide a theoretical justification for our MDM mass profile and successfully compare it to the NFW mass profiles both on cluster and galactic scales. Our results suggest that indeed the CDM mass profiles contain information about the cosmological constant in a non-trivial way.

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On R-W1 as A Diagnostic to Discover Obscured Active Galactic Nuclei in Wide-Area X-ray Surveys

Capitalizing on the all-sky coverage of {\it WISE}, and the 35\% and 50\% sky coverage from SDSS and Pan-STARRS, respectively, we explore the efficacy of $m_{R}$ (optical) - $m_{3.4 μm}$ (mid-infrared), hereafter $R-W1$, as a color diagnostic to identify obscured supermassive black hole accretion in wide-area X-ray surveys. We use the $\sim$16.5 deg$^2$ Stripe 82 X-ray survey data as a test-bed to compare $R-W1$ with $R-K$, an oft-used obscured AGN selection criterion, and examine where different classes of objects lie in this parameter space. Most stars follow a well-defined path in $R-K$ vs. $R-W1$ space. We demonstrate that optically normal galaxies hosting X-ray AGN at redshifts $0.5 4$ color-cut, while they typically are not selected as AGN based on their $W1-W2$ colors. Additionally, different observed X-ray luminosity bins favor different regions in $R-W1$ parameter space: moderate luminosity AGN ($10^{43}$ erg s$^{-1} < L_{\rm 0.5-10 keV} < 10^{44}$ erg s$^{-1}$) tend to have red colors while the highest luminosity AGN ($L_{\rm 0.5-10 keV} > 10^{45}$ erg s$^{-1}$) have bluer colors; higher spectroscopic completeness of the Stripe 82X sample is needed to determine whether this is a selection effect or an intrinsic property. Finally, we parameterize X-ray obscuration of Stripe 82X AGN by calculating their hardness ratios (HRs) and find no clear trends between HR and optical reddening. Our results will help inform best-effort practices in following-up obscured AGN candidates in current and future wide-area, shallow X-ray surveys, including the all-sky {\it eROSITA} mission.

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A SCUBA-2 survey of FeLoBAL QSOs: Are FeLoBALs in a `transition phase' between ULIRGs and QSOs?

It is thought that a class of broad absorption line (BAL) QSOs, characterised by Fe absorption features in their UV spectra (called `FeLoBALs'), could mark a transition stage between the end of an obscured starburst event and a youthful QSO beginning to shed its dust cocoon, where Fe has been injected into the interstellar medium by the starburst. To test this hypothesis we have undertaken deep SCUBA-2 850 $μ$m observations of a sample of 17 FeLoBAL QSOs with 0.89 $\leq$ z $\leq$ 2.78 and -23.31 $\leq$ M$_{B}$ $\leq$-28.50 to directly detect an excess in the thermal emission of the dust which would probe enhanced star-formation activity. We find that FeLoBALs are not luminous sources in the submillimetre, none of them are individually detected at 850 $μ$m, nor as a population through stacking ($F_{s}=1.14\pm0.58$ mJy). Statistical and survival analyses reveal that FeLoBALs have sub-mm properties consistent with BAL and non-BAL QSOs with matched redshifts and magnitudes. An SED fitting analysis shows that the FIR emission is dominated by AGN activity, and a starburst component is required only in 6/17 sources of our sample; moreover the integrated total luminosity of 16/17 sources is L$\geq$10$^{12}$L$_{\odot}$, high enough to classify FeLoBALs as infrared luminous. In conclusion, we do not find any evidence in support of FeLoBAL QSOs being a transition population between a ULIRG and an unobscured QSO; in particular, FeLoBALs are not characterized by a cold starburst which would support this hypothesis.

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The 31 Deg$^2$ Release of the Stripe 82 X-ray Survey: The Point Source Catalog

We release the next installment of the Stripe 82 X-ray survey point-source catalog, which currently covers 31.3 deg$^2$ of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Stripe 82 Legacy field. In total, 6181 unique X-ray sources are significantly detected with {\it XMM-Newton} ($>5σ$) and {\it Chandra} ($>4.5σ$). This catalog release includes data from {\it XMM-Newton} cycle AO 13, which approximately doubled the Stripe 82X survey area. The flux limits of the Stripe 82X survey are $8.7\times10^{-16}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, $4.7\times10^{-15}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, and $2.1\times10^{-15}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$ in the soft (0.5-2 keV), hard (2-10 keV), and full bands (0.5-10 keV), respectively, with approximate half-area survey flux limits of $5.4\times10^{-15}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, $2.9\times10^{-14}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$, and $1.7\times10^{-14}$ erg s$^{-1}$ cm$^{-2}$. We matched the X-ray source lists to available multi-wavelength catalogs, including updated matches to the previous release of the Stripe 82X survey; 88\% of the sample is matched to a multi-wavelength counterpart. Due to the wide area of Stripe 82X and rich ancillary multi-wavelength data, including coadded SDSS photometry, mid-infrared {\it WISE} coverage, near-infrared coverage from UKIDSS and VHS, ultraviolet coverage from {\it GALEX}, radio coverage from FIRST, and far-infrared coverage from {\it Herschel}, as well as existing $\sim$30\% optical spectroscopic completeness, we are beginning to uncover rare objects, such as obscured high-luminosity AGN at high-redshift. The Stripe 82X point source catalog is a valuable dataset for constraining how this population grows and evolves, as well as for studying how they interact with the galaxies in which they live.

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A NuSTAR Survey of Nearby Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

We present a NuSTAR, Chandra, and XMM--Newton survey of nine of the nearest ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs). The unprecedented sensitivity of NuSTAR at energies above 10 keV enables spectral modeling with far better precision than was previously possible. Six of the nine sources observed were detected sufficiently well by NuSTAR to model in detail their broadband X-ray spectra, and recover the levels of obscuration and intrinsic X-ray luminosities. Only one source (IRAS 13120--5453) has a spectrum consistent with a Compton--thick AGN, but we cannot rule out that a second source (Arp 220) harbors an extremely highly obscured AGN as well. Variability in column density (reduction by a factor of a few compared to older observations) is seen in IRAS 05189--2524 and Mrk 273, altering the classification of these border-line sources from Compton-thick to Compton-thin. The ULIRGs in our sample have surprisingly low observed fluxes in high energy (>10 keV) X-rays, especially compared to their bolometric luminosities. They have lower ratios of unabsorbed 2--10 keV to bolometric luminosity, and unabsorbed 2--10 keV to mid-IR [O IV] line luminosity than do Seyfert 1 galaxies. We identify IRAS 08572+3915 as another candidate intrinsically X-ray weak source, similar to Mrk 231. We speculate that the X-ray weakness of IRAS 08572+3915 is related to its powerful outflow observed at other wavelengths.

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The SCUBA-2 Cosmology Legacy Survey: ALMA resolves the bright-end of the sub-millimeter number counts

We present high-resolution 870-um ALMA continuum maps of 30 bright sub-millimeter sources in the UKIDSS UDS field. These sources are selected from deep, 1-square degrees 850-um maps from the SCUBA--2 Cosmology Legacy Survey, and are representative of the brightest sources in the field (median SCUBA2 flux S_850=8.7+/-0.4 mJy). We detect 52 sub-millimeter galaxies (SMGs) at >4-sigma significance in our 30 ALMA maps. In 61+/-17% of the ALMA maps the single-dish source comprises a blend of >=2 SMGs, where the secondary SMGs are Ultra--Luminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) with L_IR>10^12 Lo. The brightest SMG contributes on average 80+/-4% of the single-dish flux density, and in the ALMA maps containing >=2 SMGs the secondary SMG contributes 25+/-3% of the integrated ALMA flux. We construct source counts and show that multiplicity boosts the apparent single-dish cumulative counts by 20% at S_870>7.5mJy, and by 60% at S_870>12mJy. We combine our sample with previous ALMA studies of fainter SMGs and show that the counts are well-described by a double power-law with a break at 8.5+/-0.6mJy. The break corresponds to a luminosity of ~6x10^12Lsol or a star-formation rate of ~1000Mo/yr. For the typical sizes of these SMGs, which are resolved in our ALMA data with r=1.2+/-0.1kpc, this yields a limiting SFR density of ~100Msol/yr/kpc2. Finally, the number density of S_870>2mJy SMGs is 80+/-30 times higher than that derived from blank-field counts. An over-abundance of faint SMGs is inconsistent with line-of-sight projections dominating multiplicity in the brightest SMGs, and indicates that a significant proportion of these high-redshift ULIRGs must be physically associated.

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Submillimetre observations of WISE/radio-selected AGN and their environments

We present JCMT SCUBA-2 850microns submillimetre (submm) observations of 30 mid-infrared (mid-IR) luminous AGN, detected jointly by the WISE all-sky IR survey and the NVSS/FIRST radio survey. These rare sources are selected by their extremely red mid-infrared spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and compact radio counterparts. Further investigations show that they are highly obscured, have abundant warm AGN-heated dust and are thought to be experiencing intense AGN feedback. These galaxies appear to be consistent with an AGN-dominated galaxy, and could be a transient phase of merging galaxies. When comparing the number of submm galaxies (SMGs) detected serendipitously in the surrounding 1.5-arcmin to those in blank-field submm surveys, there is a very significant overdensity, of order 5, but no sign of radial clustering centred at our primary objects. The WISE/radio-selected AGN thus reside in 10-Mpc-scale overdense environments, that could be forming in pre-viralised clusters of galaxies. WISE/radio-selected AGNs appear to be the strongest signposts of high-density regions of active, luminous and dusty galaxies. SCUBA-2 850microns observations indicate that their submm fluxes are low compared to many popular AGN SED templates, hence the WISE/radio-selected AGNs have either less cold and/or more warm dust emission than normally assumed for typical AGN. Most of the targets are not detected, only four targets are detected at SCUBA-2 850microns, and have total IR luminosities >= 10^13 L_solar, if their redshifts are consistent with the subset of the 10 SCUBA-2 undetected targets with known redshifts, z ~ 0.44 - 2.86.

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Detailed modelling of a large sample of Herschel sources in the Lockman Hole: identification of cold dust and of lensing candidates through their anomalous SEDs

We have studied in detail a sample of 967 SPIRE sources with 5-sigma detections at 350 and 500 micron and associations with Spitzer-SWIRE 24 micron galaxies in the HerMES-Lockman survey area, fitting their mid- and far-infrared, and submillimetre, SEDs in an automatic search with a set of six infrared templates. For almost 300 galaxies we have modelled their SEDs individually to ensure the physicality of the fits. We confirm the need for the new cool and cold cirrus templates, and also of the young starburst template, introduced in earlier work. We also identify 109 lensing candidates via their anomalous SEDs and provide a set of colour-redshift constraints which allow lensing candidates to be identified from combined Herschel and Spitzer data. The picture that emerges of the submillimetre galaxy population is complex, comprising ultraluminous and hyperluminous starbursts, lower luminosity galaxies dominated by interstellar dust emission, lensed galaxies and galaxies with surprisingly cold (10-13K) dust. 11 % of 500$μ$m selected sources are lensing candidates. 70 % of the unlensed sources are ultraluminous infrared galaxies and 26 % are hyperluminous. 34 % are dominated by optically thin interstellar dust ('cirrus') emission, but most of these are due to cooler dust than is characteristic of our Galaxy. At the highest infrared luminosities we see SEDs dominated by M82, Arp220 and young starburst types, in roughly equal proportions.

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Testing MONDian Dark Matter with Galactic Rotation Curves

MONDian dark matter (MDM) is a new form of dark matter quantum that naturally accounts for Milgrom's scaling, usually associated with modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND), and theoretically behaves like cold dark matter (CDM) at cluster and cosmic scales. In this paper, we provide the first observational test of MDM by fitting rotation curves to a sample of 30 local spiral galaxies (z approximately 0.003). For comparison, we also fit the galactic rotation curves using MOND, and CDM. We find that all three models fit the data well. The rotation curves predicted by MDM and MOND are virtually indistinguishable over the range of observed radii (~1 to 30 kpc). The best-fit MDM and CDM density profiles are compared. We also compare with MDM the dark matter density profiles arising from MOND if Milgrom's formula is interpreted as Newtonian gravity with an extra source term instead of as a modification of inertia. We find that discrepancies between MDM and MOND will occur near the center of a typical spiral galaxy. In these regions, instead of continuing to rise sharply, the MDM mass density turns over and drops as we approach the center of the galaxy. Our results show that MDM, which restricts the nature of the dark matter quantum by accounting for Milgrom's scaling, accurately reproduces observed rotation curves.

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The co-evolution of black hole growth and star formation from a cross-correlation analysis between quasars and the cosmic infrared background

We present the first cross-correlation measurement between Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Type 1 quasars and the cosmic infrared background (CIB) measured by Herschel. The distribution of the quasars at 0.15 =1.4) is $11.1^{+1.6}_{-1.4}$, $7.1^{+1.6}_{-1.3}$ and $3.6^{+1.4}_{-1.0}$ mJy at 250, 350 and 500 microns, respectively, while the mean sub-mm flux densities of the DR9 quasars ( =2.5) is $5.7^{+0.7}_{-0.6}$, $5.0^{+0.8}_{-0.7}$ and $1.8^{+0.5}_{-0.4}$ mJy. We find that the correlated sub-mm emission includes both the emission from satellite DSFGs in the same halo as the central quasar and the emission from DSFGs in separate halos (correlated with the quasar-hosting halo). The amplitude of the one-halo term is ~10 times smaller than the sub-mm emission of the quasars, implying the the satellites have a lower star-formation rate than the quasars. The satellite fraction for the DR7 quasars is $0.008^{+0.008}_{-0.005}$ and the host halo mass scale for the central and satellite quasars is $10^{12.36\pm0.87}$ M$_{\odot}$ and $10^{13.60\pm0.38}$ M$_{\odot}$, respectively. The satellite fraction of the DR9 quasars is $0.065^{+0.021}_{-0.031}$ and the host halo mass scale for the central and satellite quasars is $10^{12.29\pm0.62}$ M$_{\odot}$ and $10^{12.82\pm0.39}$ M$_{\odot}$, respectively. Thus, the typical halo environment of the SDSS Type 1 quasars is found to be similar to that of DSFGs, which supports the generally accepted view that dusty starburst and quasar activity are evolutionarily linked.

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Multiwavelength characterization of faint Ultra Steep Spectrum radio sources : A search for high-redshift radio galaxies

Ultra Steep Spectrum (USS) radio sources are one of the efficient tracers of powerful High-z Radio Galaxies (HzRGs). In contrast to searches for powerful HzRGs from radio surveys of moderate depths, fainter USS samples derived from deeper radio surveys can be useful in finding HzRGs at even higher redshifts and in unveiling a population of obscured weaker radio-loud AGN at moderate redshifts. Using our 325 MHz GMRT observations (5-sigma ~ 800 microJy) and 1.4 GHz VLA observations (5-sigma ~ 80 - 100 microJy) available in two subfields (viz., VLA-VIMOS VLT Deep Survey (VLA-VVDS) and Subaru X-ray Deep Field (SXDF)) of the XMM-LSS field, we derive a large sample of 160 faint USS radio sources and characterize their nature. The optical, IR counterparts of our USS sample sources are searched using existing deep surveys, at respective wavelengths. We attempt to unveil the nature of our faint USS sources using diagnostic techniques based on mid-IR colors, flux ratios of radio to mid-IR, and radio luminosities. Redshift estimates are available for 86/116 (~ 74%) USS sources in the VLA-VVDS field and for 39/44 (~ 87%) USS sources in the SXDF fields with median values (z_median) ~ 1.18 and ~ 1.57, which are higher than that for non-USS radio sources (z_median non-USS ~ 0.99 and ~ 0.96), in the two subfields, respectively. The flux ratio of radio to mid-IR (S_1.4 GHz/S_3.6 micron) versus redshift diagnostic plot suggests that more than half of our USS sample sources distributed over z ~ 0.5 to 3.8 are likely to be hosted in obscured environments. A significant fraction (~ 26% in the VLA-VVDS and ~ 13% in the SXDF) of our USS sources without redshift estimates mostly remain unidentified in the existing optical, IR surveys, and exhibit high radio to mid-IR flux ratio limits similar to HzRGs, and thus, can be considered as potential HzRG candidates.

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Black hole accretion preferentially occurs in gas rich galaxies

We have investigated the gas content of a sample of several hundred AGN host galaxies at z$<$1 and compared it with a sample of inactive galaxies, matched in bins of stellar mass and redshift. Gas masses have been inferred from the dust masses, obtained by stacked Herschel far-IR and sub-mm data in the GOODS and COSMOS fields, under reasonable assumptions and metallicity scaling relations for the dust-to-gas ratio. We find that AGNs are on average hosted in galaxies much more gas rich than inactive galaxies. In the vast majority of stellar mass bins, the average gas content of AGN hosts is higher than in inactive galaxies. The difference is up to a factor of ten higher in low stellar mass galaxies, with a significance of 6.5$σ$. In almost half of the AGN sample the gas content is three times higher than in the control sample of inactive galaxies. Our result strongly suggests that the probability of having an AGN activated is simply driven by the amount of gas in the host galaxy; this can be explained in simple terms of statistical probability of having a gas cloud falling into the gravitational potential of the black hole. The increased probability of an AGN being hosted by a star-forming galaxy, identified by previous works, may be a consequence of the relationship between gas content and AGN activity, found in this paper, combined with the Schmidt-Kennicutt law for star formation.

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Far-infrared Fine-Structure Line Diagnostics of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies

We present Herschel observations of six fine-structure lines in 25 Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies at z<0.27. The lines, [O III]52, [N III]57, [O I]63, [N II]122, [O I]145, and [C II]158, are mostly single gaussians with widths <600 km s-1 and luminosities of 10^7 - 10^9 Solar. There are deficits in the [O I]63/L_IR, [N II]/L_IR, [O I]145/L_IR, and [C II]/L_IR ratios compared to lower luminosity systems. The majority of the line deficits are consistent with dustier H II regions, but part of the [C II] deficit may arise from an additional mechanism, plausibly charged dust grains. This is consistent with some of the [C II] originating from PDRs or the ISM. We derive relations between far-IR line luminosities and both IR luminosity and star formation rate. We find that [N II] and both [O I] lines are good tracers of IR luminosity and star formation rate. In contrast, [C II] is a poor tracer of IR luminosity and star formation rate, and does not improve as a tracer of either quantity if the [C II] deficit is accounted for. The continuum luminosity densities also correlate with IR luminosity and star formation rate. We derive ranges for the gas density and ultraviolet radiation intensity of 10^1 < n < 10^2.5 and 10^2.2 < G_0 < 10^3.6, respectively. These ranges depend on optical type, the importance of star formation, and merger stage. We do not find relationships between far-IR line properties and several other parameters; AGN activity, merger stage, mid-IR excitation, and SMBH mass. We conclude that these far-IR lines arise from gas heated by starlight, and that they are not strongly influenced by AGN activity.

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The roles of star formation and AGN activity of IRS sources in the HerMES fields

In this work we explore the impact of the presence of an active galactic nucleus (AGN) on the mid- and far-infrared (IR) properties of galaxies as well as the effects of simultaneous AGN and starburst activity in these same galaxies. To do this we apply a multi-component, multi-band spectral synthesis technique to a sample of 250 micron selected galaxies of the Herschel Multi-tiered Extragalactic Survey, with IRS spectra available for all galaxies. Our results confirm that the inclusion of the IRS spectra plays a crucial role in the spectral analysis of galaxies with an AGN component improving the selection of the best-fit hot dust model (torus). We find a correlation between the obscured star formation rate (SFR) derived from the IR luminosity of the starburst component, SFR_IR and SFR_PAH, derived from the luminosity of the PAH features, L_PAH, with SFR_FIR taking higher values than SFR_PAH. The correlation is different for AGN- and starburst-dominated objects. The ratio of L_PAH to that of the starburst component, L_PAH/L_SB, is almost constant for AGN-dominated objects but decreases with increasing L_SB for starburst-dominated objects. SFR_FIR increases with the accretion luminosity, L_acc, with the increase less prominent for the very brightest, unobscured AGN-dominated sources. We find no correlation between the masses of the hot and cold dust components. We interpret this as a non-constant fraction of gas driven by the gravitational effects to the AGN while the starburst is ongoing. We also find no evidence of the AGN affecting the temperature of the cold dust component, though this conclusion is mostly based on objects with a non-dominant AGN component. We conclude that our findings do not provide evidence that the presence of AGN affects the star formation process in the host galaxy, but rather that the two phenomena occur simultaneously over a wide range of luminosities.

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The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission

The Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) mission, launched on 13 June 2012, is the first focusing high-energy X-ray telescope in orbit. NuSTAR operates in the band from 3 -- 79 keV, extending the sensitivity of focusing far beyond the ~10 keV high-energy cutoff achieved by all previous X-ray satellites. The inherently low-background associated with concentrating the X-ray light enables NuSTAR to probe the hard X-ray sky with a more than one-hundred-fold improvement in sensitivity over the collimated or coded-mask instruments that have operated in this bandpass. Using its unprecedented combination of sensitivity, spatial and spectral resolution, NuSTAR will pursue five primary scientific objectives, and will also undertake a broad program of targeted observations. The observatory consists of two co-aligned grazing-incidence X-ray telescopes pointed at celestial targets by a three-axis stabilized spacecraft. Deployed into a 600 km, near-circular, 6degree inclination orbit, the Observatory has now completed commissioning, and is performing consistent with pre-launch expectations. NuSTAR is now executing its primary science mission, and with an expected orbit lifetime of ten years, we anticipate proposing a guest investigator program, to begin in Fall 2014.

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