Massive Star Cluster Formation and Destruction in Luminous Infrared Galaxies in GOALS. II. An ACS/WFC3 Survey of Nearby LIRGs

We present the results of a Hubble Space Telescope WFC3 near-UV and Advanced Camera for Surveys Wide Field Channel optical study into the star cluster populations of a sample of 10 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the Great Observatories All-Sky LIRG Survey. Through integrated broadband photometry we have derived ages, masses, and extinctions for a total of 1027 star clusters in galaxies with d L < 110 Mpc in order to avoid issues related to cluster bending. The measured cluster age distribution slope of dN / d τ ∝ τ − 0.5 + / − 0.12 is steeper than what has been observed in lower-luminosity star-forming galaxies. Further, differences in the slope of the observed cluster age distribution between inner- ( dN / d τ ∝ τ − 1.07 + / − 0.12 ) and outer-disk ( dN / d τ ∝ τ − 0.37 + / − 0.09 ) star clusters provide evidence of mass-dependent cluster destruction in the central regions of LIRGs driven primarily by the combined effect of strong tidal shocks and encounters with massive giant molecular clouds. Excluding the nuclear ring surrounding the Seyfert 1 nucleus in NGC 7469, the derived cluster mass function (CMF; dN / dM ∝ M α ) offers marginal evidence for a truncation in the power law at M t ∼ 2×106 M ⊙ for our three most cluster-rich sources, which are all classified as early stage mergers. Finally, we find evidence of a flattening of the CMF slope of dN / dM ∝ M − 1.42 ± 0.1 for clusters in late-stage mergers relative to early stage (α = −1.65 ± 0.02), which we attribute to an increase in the formation of massive clusters over the course of the interaction.

Cold Molecular Gas in Merger Remnants. II. The Properties of Dense Molecular Gas

We present the 3 mm wavelength spectra of 28 local galaxy merger remnants obtained with the Large Millimeter Telescope. Sixteen molecular lines from 14 different molecular species and isotopologues were identified, and 21 out of 28 sources were detected in one or more molecular lines. On average, the line ratios of the dense gas tracers, such as HCN (1–0) and HCO+(1–0), to 13CO (1–0) are 3–4 times higher in ultra/luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs) than in non-LIRGs in our sample. These high line ratios could be explained by the deficiency of 13CO and high dense gas fractions suggested by high HCN (1–0)/12CO (1–0) ratios. We calculate the IR-to-HCN (1–0) luminosity ratio as a proxy of the dense gas star formation efficiency. There is no correlation between the IR/HCN ratio and the IR luminosity, while the IR/HCN ratio varies from source to source ((1.1–6.5) × 103 L ☉/(K km s−1 pc2)). Compared with the control sample, we find that the average IR/HCN ratio of the merger remnants is higher by a factor of 2–3 than those of the early/mid-stage mergers and nonmerging LIRGs, and it is comparable to that of the late-stage mergers. The IR-to-12CO (1–0) ratios show a similar trend to the IR/HCN ratios. These results suggest that star formation efficiency is enhanced by the merging process and maintained at high levels even after the final coalescence. The dynamical interactions and mergers could change the star formation mode and continue to impact the star formation properties of the gas in the postmerger phase.

Gas Phase Metallicities of Local Ultra-Luminous Infrared Galaxies Follow Normal Star-Forming Galaxies

Despite advances in observational data, theoretical models, and computational techniques to simulate key physical processes in the formation and evolution of galaxies, the stellar mass assembly of galaxies still remains an unsolved problem today. Optical spectroscopic measurements appears to show that the gas-phase metallicities of local ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) are significantly lower than those of normal star-forming galaxies1–3. This difference has resulted in the claim that ULIRGs are fueled by metal-poor gas accretion from the outskirts4. Here we report on a new set of gas-phase metallicity measurements making use of the far-infrared spectral lines of [Oiii]52 μm, [Oiii]88 μm, and [Niii]57 μm instead of the usual optical lines. Photoionization models have resulted in a metallicity diagnostic based on these three lines that break the electron density degeneracy and reduces the scatter of the correlation significantly5. Using new data from SOFIA and archival data from Herschel Space Observatory, we find that local ULIRGs lie on the mass-metallicity relation of star-forming galaxies and have metallicities comparable to other galaxies with similar stellar masses and star formation rates. The lack of a departure suggests that ULIRGs follow the same mass assembly mechanism as luminous star-forming galaxies and ∼ 0.3 dex under-abundance in metallicities derived from optical lines is a result of heavily obscured metal-rich gas which has a negligible effect when using the FIR line diagnostics.

An ACA Survey of [C i] 3 P 1−3 P 0, CO J = 4 − 3, and Dust Continuum in Nearby U/LIRGs

We present the results of surveying [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0, 12CO J = 4 − 3, and 630 μm dust continuum emission for 36 nearby ultra/luminous infrared galaxies (U/LIRGs) using the Band 8 receiver mounted on the Atacama Compact Array of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. We describe the survey, observations, data reduction, and results; the main results are as follows. (i) We confirmed that [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0 has a linear relationship with both the 12CO J = 4 − 3 and 630 μm continuum. (ii) In NGC 6052 and NGC 7679, 12CO J = 4 − 3 was detected but [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0 was not detected with a [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0/12CO J = 4 − 3 ratio of ≲0.08. Two possible scenarios of weak [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0 emission are C0-poor/CO-rich environments and an environment with an extremely large [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0 missing flux. (iii) There is no clear evidence showing that galaxy mergers, AGNs, and dust temperatures control the ratios of [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0/12CO J = 4 − 3 and L [ C I ] ( 1 − 0 ) ′ / L 630 μ m . (iv) We compare our nearby U/LIRGs with high-z galaxies, such as galaxies on the star formation main sequence (MS) at z ∼ 1 and submillimeter galaxies (SMGs) at z = 2–4. We found that the mean value for the [C i] 3 P 1–3 P 0/12CO J = 4 − 3 ratio of U/LIRGs is similar to that of SMGs but smaller than that of galaxies on the MS.

The obstructed jet in Mrk 231

Mrk 231 is the closest radio-quiet quasar known and one of the most luminous infrared galaxies in the local Universe. It is characterised by the co-existence of a radio jet and powerful multi-phase multi-scale outflows, making it an ideal laboratory to study active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. We analyse the multi-epoch very long baseline interferometry data of Mrk 231 and estimate the jet head advance speed to be ≲ 0.013 c, suggesting a sub-relativistic jet flow. The jet position angle changes from −113○ in the inner parsec to −172○ at a projected distance of 25 parsec. The jet structure change might result from either a jet bending following the rotation of the circum-nuclear disc or the projection of a helical jet on the plane of the sky. In the large opening angle (∼60○) cone, the curved jet interacts with the interstellar medium and creates wide-aperture-angle shocks which subsequently dissipate a large portion of the jet power through radiation and contribute to powering the large-scale outflows. The low power and bent structure of the Mrk 231 jet, as well as extensive radiation dissipation, are consistent with the obstruction of the short-length jet by the host galaxy’s environment.

Excitation and acceleration of molecular outflows in LIRGs: The extended ESO 320-G030 outflow on 200-pc scales

We used high-spatial resolution (70 pc; 0$ {{\overset{\prime\prime}{.}}} $3) CO multi-transition (J = 1–0, 2–1, 4–3, and 6–5) ALMA data to study the physical conditions and kinematics of the cold molecular outflow in the local luminous infrared galaxy (LIRG) ESO 320-G030 (d = 48 Mpc, LIR/L⊙ = 1011.3). ESO 320-G030 is a double-barred isolated spiral, but its compact and obscured nuclear starburst (SFR ∼ 15 M⊙ yr−1; AV ∼ 40 mag) resembles those of ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (LIR/L⊙ > 1012). In the outflow, the CO(1–0)/CO(2–1) ratio is enhanced with respect to the rest of the galaxy and the CO(4–3) transition is undetected. This indicates that the outflowing molecular gas is less excited than the molecular gas in the nuclear starburst (i.e., outflow launching site) and in the galaxy disk. Non-local thermodynamic equilibrium radiative transfer modeling reveals that the properties of the molecular clouds in the outflow differ from those of the nuclear and disk clouds: The kinetic temperature is lower (Tkin ∼ 9 K) in the outflow, and the outflowing clouds have lower column densities. Assuming a 10−4 CO abundance, the large internal velocity gradients, 60−45+250 km s−1 pc−1, imply that the outflowing molecular clouds are not bound by self-gravity. All this suggests that the life-cycle (formation, collapse, dissipation) of the galaxy disk molecular clouds might differ from that of the outflowing molecular clouds which might not be able to form stars. The low kinetic temperature of the molecular outflow remains constant at radial distances between 0.3 and 1.7 kpc. This indicates that the heating by the hotter ionized outflow phase is not efficient and may favor the survival of the molecular gas phase in the outflow. The spatially resolved velocity structure of the outflow shows a 0.8 km s−1 pc−1 velocity gradient between 190 pc and 560 pc and then a constant maximum outflow velocity of about 700–800 km s−1 up to 1.7 kpc. This could be compatible with a pure gravitational evolution of the outflow, which would require coupled variations of the mass outflow rate and the outflow launching velocity distribution. Alternatively, a combination of ram pressure acceleration and cloud evaporation could explain the observed kinematics and the total size of the cold molecular phase of the outflow.

Molecular gas and star formation activity in luminous infrared galaxies in clusters at intermediate redshifts

We investigate the role of dense megaparsec-scale environments in processing molecular gas of cluster galaxies as they fall into the cluster cores. We selected a sample of ∼20 luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) belonging to intermediate-redshift clusters, mainly from the Herschel Lensing Survey and the Local Cluster Substructure Survey. These galaxies include MACS J0717.5+3745 at z = 0.546 and Abell 697, 963, 1763, and 2219 at z = 0.2 − 0.3. We performed spectral energy distribution modeling from the far-infrared to ultraviolet of the LIRGs, which span cluster-centric distances within r/r200 ≃ 0.2 − 1.6. We observed the LIRGs in CO(1→0) or CO(2→1) with the Plateau de Bure interferometer and its successor NOEMA, as part of five observational programs carried out between 2012 and 2017. We compared the molecular gas to stellar mass ratio M(H2)/M⋆, star formation rate (SFR), and depletion time (τdep) of the LIRGs with those of a compilation of cluster and field star-forming galaxies from the literature. The targeted LIRGs have SFR, M(H2)/M⋆, and τdep that are consistent with those of both main-sequence (MS) field galaxies and star-forming galaxies from the comparison sample. However we find that the depletion time, normalized to the MS value, tentatively increases with increasing r/r200, with a significance of 2.8σ, which is ultimately due to a deficit of cluster-core LIRGs with τdep ≳ τdep, MS. We suggest that a rapid exhaustion of the molecular gas reservoirs occurs in the cluster LIRGs and is indeed effective in suppressing their star formation and ultimately quenching them. This mechanism may explain the exponential decrease of the fraction of cluster LIRGs with cosmic time. The compression of the gas in LIRGs, possibly induced by intra-cluster medium shocks, may be responsible for the short timescales that are observed in a large fraction of cluster-core LIRGs. Some of our LIRGs may also belong to a population of infalling filament galaxies.