arXiv subjects

Sara Petty

Publications and source records attributed to Sara Petty.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

arXiv2013

The Distribution of AGN Covering Factors

We review our knowledge of the most basic properties of the AGN obscuring region - its location, scale, symmetry, and mean covering factor - and discuss new evidence on the distribution of covering factors in a sample of ~9000 quasars with WISE, UKIDSS, and SDSS photometry. The obscuring regions of AGN may be in some ways more complex than we thought - multi-scale, not symmetric, chaotic - and in some ways simpler - with no dependence on luminosity, and a covering factor distribution that may be determined by the simplest of considerations - e.g. random misalignments.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Spitzer Photometry of WISE-Selected Brown Dwarf and Hyper-Luminous Infrared Galaxy Candidates

We present Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m photometry and positions for a sample of 1510 brown dwarf candidates identified by the WISE all-sky survey. Of these, 166 have been spectroscopically classified as objects with spectral types M(1), L(7), T(146), and Y(12); Sixteen other objects are non-(sub)stellar in nature. The remainder are most likely distant L and T dwarfs lacking spectroscopic verification, other Y dwarf candidates still awaiting follow-up, and assorted other objects whose Spitzer photometry reveals them to be background sources. We present a catalog of Spitzer photometry for all astrophysical sources identified in these fields and use this catalog to identify 7 fainter (4.5 $μ$m $\sim$ 17.0 mag) brown dwarf candidates, which are possibly wide-field companions to the original WISE sources. To test this hypothesis, we use a sample of 919 Spitzer observations around WISE-selected high-redshift hyper-luminous infrared galaxy (HyLIRG) candidates. For this control sample we find another 6 brown dwarf candidates, suggesting that the 7 companion candidates are not physically associated. In fact, only one of these 7 Spitzer brown dwarf candidates has a photometric distance estimate consistent with being a companion to the WISE brown dwarf candidate. Other than this there is no evidence for any widely separated ($>$ 20 AU) ultra-cool binaries. As an adjunct to this paper, we make available a source catalog of $\sim$ 7.33 $\times 10^5$ objects detected in all of these Spitzer follow-up fields for use by the astronomical community. The complete catalog includes the Spitzer 3.6 and 4.5 $μ$m photometry, along with positionally matched $B$ and $R$ photometry from USNO-B; $J$, $H$, and $K_s$ photometry from 2MASS; and $W1$, $W2$, $W3$, and $W4$ photometry from the WISE all-sky catalog.

astro-ph.SR↗

arXiv2012

The First Hyper-Luminous Infrared Galaxy Discovered by WISE

We report the discovery by the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer of the z = 2.452 source WISE J181417.29+341224.9, the first hyperluminous source found in the WISE survey. WISE 1814+3412 is also the prototype for an all-sky sample of ~1000 extremely luminous "W1W2-dropouts" (sources faint or undetected by WISE at 3.4 and 4.6 microns and well detected at 12 or 22 microns). The WISE data and a 350 micron detection give a minimum bolometric luminosity of 3.7 x 10^13 Lsun, with ~10^14 Lsun plausible. Followup images reveal four nearby sources: a QSO and two Lyman Break Galaxies (LBGs) at z = 2.45, and an M dwarf star. The brighter LBG dominates the bolometric emission. Gravitational lensing is unlikely given the source locations and their different spectra and colors. The dominant LBG spectrum indicates a star formation rate ~300 Msun/yr, accounting for < 10% of the bolometric luminosity. Strong 22 micron emission relative to 350 microns implies that warm dust contributes significantly to the luminosity, while cooler dust normally associated with starbursts is constrained by an upper limit at 1.1 mm. Radio emission is ~10x above the far-infrared/radio correlation, indicating an active galactic nucleus is present. An obscured AGN combined with starburst and evolved stellar components can account for the observations. If the black hole mass follows the local M_BH-bulge mass relation, the implied Eddington ratio is >~4. WISE 1814+3412 may be a heavily obscured object where the peak AGN activity occurred prior to the peak era of star formation.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Submillimeter Follow-up of WISE-Selected Hyperluminous Galaxies

We have used the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO) to follow-up a sample of WISE-selected, hyperluminous galaxies, so called W1W2-dropout galaxies. This is a rare (~ 1000 all-sky) population of galaxies at high redshift (peaks at z=2-3), that are faint or undetected by WISE at 3.4 and 4.6 um, yet are clearly detected at 12 and 22 um. The optical spectra of most of these galaxies show significant AGN activity. We observed 14 high-redshift (z > 1.7) W1W2-dropout galaxies with SHARC-II at 350 to 850 um, with 9 detections; and observed 18 with Bolocam at 1.1 mm, with five detections. Warm Spitzer follow-up of 25 targets at 3.6 and 4.5 um, as well as optical spectra of 12 targets are also presented in the paper. Combining WISE data with observations from warm Spitzer and CSO, we constructed their mid-IR to millimeter spectral energy distributions (SEDs). These SEDs have a consistent shape, showing significantly higher mid-IR to submm ratios than other galaxy templates, suggesting a hotter dust temperature. We estimate their dust temperatures to be 60-120 K using a single-temperature model. Their infrared luminosities are well over 10^{13} Lsun. These SEDs are not well fitted with existing galaxy templates, suggesting they are a new population with very high luminosity and hot dust. They are likely among the most luminous galaxies in the Universe. We argue that they are extreme cases of luminous, hot dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs), possibly representing a short evolutionary phase during galaxy merging and evolution. A better understanding of their long-wavelength properties needs ALMA as well as Herschel data.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

A New Population of High Redshift, Dusty Lyman-Alpha Emitters and Blobs Discovered by WISE

We report a new technique to select 1.6 10^{13-14}L_sun) and warm colors, typically larger than submillimeter-selected galaxies (SMGs) and dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs). These traits are commonly associated with the dust being energized by intense AGN activity. We hypothesize that the combination of spatially extended Lyman-alpha, large amounts of warm IR-luminous dust, and rarity (implying a short-lived phase) can be explained if the galaxies are undergoing strong `feedback' transforming them from an extreme dusty starburst to a QSO.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2012

Mid-Infrared Selection of AGN with the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer. I. Characterizing WISE-Selected AGN in COSMOS

The Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) is an extremely capable and efficient black hole finder. We present a simple mid-infrared color criterion, W1-W2 \geq 0.8 (i.e., [3.4]-[4.6] \geq 0.8, Vega), which identifies 61.9 \pm 5.4 AGN candidates per deg2 to a depth of W2 = 15.0. This implies a much larger census of luminous AGN than found by typical wide-area surveys, attributable to the fact that mid-infrared selection identifies both unobscured (type 1) and obscured (type 2) AGN. Optical and soft X-ray surveys alone are highly biased towards only unobscured AGN, while this simple WISE selection likely identifies even heavily obscured, Compton-thick AGN. Using deep, public data in the COSMOS field, we explore the properties of WISE-selected AGN candidates. At the mid-infrared depth considered, 160 uJy at 4.6 microns, this simple criterion identifies 78% of Spitzer mid-infrared AGN candidates according to the criteria of Stern et al. (2005) and the reliability is 95%. We explore the demographics, multiwavelength properties and redshift distribution of WISE-selected AGN candidates in the COSMOS field.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Direct Evidence for Termination of Obscured Star Formation by Radiatively Driven Outflows in FeLoBAL QSOs

We use SDSS spectra and optical to far-infrared photometry for a sample of 31 FeLoBAL QSOs to study the relationship between the AGN-driven outflows, and obscured star formation in their host galaxies. We find that FeLoBAL QSOs invariably have IR luminosities exceeding 10^12 Solar luminosities. The AGN supplies 75% of the total IR emission, on average, but with a range from 20% to 100%. We find a clear anticorrelation between the strength of the AGN-driven outflows and the contribution from star formation to the total IR luminosity, with a much higher chance of seeing a starburst contribution in excess of 25% in systems with weak outflows than in systems with strong outflows. Moreover, we find no evidence that this effect is driven by the IR luminosity of the AGN. We conclude that radiatively driven outflows from AGN act to curtail obscured star formation in the host galaxies of reddened QSOs to less than ~25% of the total IR luminosity. This is the most direct evidence yet obtained for `quasar mode' AGN feedback.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Direct Evidence for Termination of Obscured Star Formation by Radiatively Driven Outflows in Reddened QSOs

We present optical to far-infrared photometry of 31 reddened QSOs that show evidence for radiatively driven outflows originating from AGN in their rest-frame UV spectra. We use these data to study the relationships between the AGN-driven outflows, and the AGN and starburst infrared luminosities. We find that FeLoBAL QSOs are invariably IR-luminous, with IR luminosities exceeding 10^{12} Solar luminosities in all cases. The AGN supplies 76% of the total IR emission, on average, but with a range from 20% to 100%. We find no evidence that the absolute luminosity of obscured star formation is affected by the AGN-driven outflows. Conversely, we find an anticorrelation between the strength of AGN-driven outflows, as measured from the range of outflow velocities over which absorption exceeds a minimal threshold, and the contribution from star formation to the total IR luminosity, with a much higher chance of seeing a starburst contribution in excess of 25% in systems with weak outflows than in systems with strong outflows. Moreover, we find no convincing evidence that this effect is driven by the IR luminosity of the AGN. We conclude that radiatively driven outflows from AGN can have a dramatic, negative impact on luminous star formation in their host galaxies. We find that such outflows act to curtail star formation such that star formation contributes less than ~25% of the total IR luminosity. We also propose that the degree to which termination of star formation takes place is not deducible from the IR luminosity of the AGN.

astro-ph.CO↗

arXiv2011

Optical Spectroscopic Survey of High Latitude WISE Selected Sources

We report on the results of an optical spectroscopic survey at high Galactic latitude (b\geq30°) of a sample of WISE-selected targets, grouped by WISE W1 (λ_eff = 3.4 \mum) flux, which we use to characterize the sources WISE detected. We observed 762 targets in 10 disjoint fields centered on ultra-luminous infrared galaxy (ULIRG) candidates using the DEIMOS spectrograph on Keck II. We find 0.30 \pm 0.02 galaxies arcmin^-2 with a median redshift of z=0.33 \pm 0.01 for the sample with W1 \geq 120 \muJy. The foreground stellar densities in our survey range from 0.23 \pm 0.07 arcmin^(-2) to 1.1 \pm 0.1 arcmin^(-2) for the same sample. We obtained spectra that produced science grade redshifts for \geq 90% of our targets for sources with W1 flux \geq 120 \muJy that also had i-band flux \geq 18 \muJy. We used for targeting very preliminary data reductions available to the team in August of 2010. Our results therefore present a conservative estimate of what is possible to achieve using WISE's Preliminary Data Release for the study of field galaxies.

astro-ph.GA↗