CaltechAUTHORS
Published May 1, 2007 | Version Published
Journal Article Open

AEGIS: Infrared spectroscopy of an infrared-luminous Lyman break galaxy at z = 3.01

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
  • 2. ROR icon University of Oxford
  • 3. ROR icon University of Arizona
  • 4. ROR icon University of California, Santa Cruz
  • 5. ROR icon McGill University
  • 6. ROR icon California Institute of Technology
  • 7. ROR icon University of Nottingham
  • 8. ROR icon Shanghai Normal University
  • 9. ROR icon Shanghai Astronomical Observatory

Abstract

We report the detection of rest-frame 6.2 and 7.7 μm emission features arising from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the Spitzer IRS spectrum of an infrared-luminous Lyman break galaxy at z=3.01. This is currently the highest redshift galaxy where these PAH emission features have been detected. The total IR luminosity inferred from the MIPS 24 μm and radio flux density is 2 x 10^13L., which qualifies this object as a so-called hyperluminous infrared galaxy (HyLIRG). However, unlike local HyLIRGs, which are generally associated with QSO/AGNs and have weak or absent PAH emission features, this HyLIRG has very strong 6.2 and 7.7 μm PAH emission. We argue that intense star formation dominates the IR emission of this source, although we cannot rule out the presence of a deeply obscured AGN. This LBG appears to be a distorted system in the HST ACS F606W and F814W images, possibly indicating that a significant merger or interaction is driving the large IR luminosity.

Additional Information

© 2007 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2006 May 31; accepted 2006 August 22; published 2006 September 20. We wish to thank our collaborators on the AEGIS project for many insightful conversations and much hard work. This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through an award issued by JPL/Caltech.

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Identifiers

Eprint ID
11609
Resolver ID
CaltechAUTHORS:HUAapjl07

Funding

NASA

Dates

Created
2008-09-11
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Updated
2021-11-08
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