POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS IN GALAXIES AT z similar to 0.1: THE EFFECT OF STAR FORMATION AND ACTIVE GALACTIC NUCLEI
- O'Dowd, Matthew J.
- Schiminovich, David
- Johnson, Benjamin D.
- Treyer, Marie A.
- Martin, Christopher D.
- Wyder, Ted K.
- Charlot, S.
- Heckman, Timothy M.
- Martins, Lucimara P.
- Seibert, Mark
- van der Hulst, J. M.
DOIAbstract
We present the analysis of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) spectra of a sample of 92 typical star-forming galaxies at 0.03 <z <0.2 observed with the Spitzer intensified Reticon spectrograph (IRS). We compare the relative strengths of PAH emission features with Sloan Digital Sky Survey optical diagnostics to probe the relationship between PAH grain properties and star formation and active galactic nuclei (AGNs) activity. Short-to-long wavelength PAH ratios, and in particular the 7.7 mu m-to-11.3 mu m feature ratio, are strongly correlated with the star formation diagnostics D-n(4000) and H alpha equivalent width, increasing with younger stellar populations. This ratio also shows a significant difference between active and non-activ...
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