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R. Dudik, S. Satyapal (George Mason University)
We present a mid-infrared spectroscopic survey of the 25 LINER galaxies observed by the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) Short Wavelength Spectrometer. These observations are compared with previously published ISO observations of starburst and active galactic nuclei (AGN) template galaxies. We find that less than half of the LINER galaxies observed show strong detections of high excitation mid-IR fine structure line emission. Most LINERs have mid-infrared spectra similar to starburst galaxies. However, in some cases, these spectral characteristics are irreconcilable with previously obtained multiwavelength data that reveal distinct evidence for a hard radiation field characteristic of an AGN. We discuss the possible origin of these discrepancies and use standard mid-IR AGN/starburst line ratio diagrams to examine the contribution of AGN to the bolometric luminosities of the observed LINERs.This work was supported by NASA grant NAG5-11432.
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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 34, #4
© 2002. The American Astronomical Soceity.