[33.19] Observations of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope

AAS 204th Meeting, June 2004
Session 33 Early Science Results from the Spitzer Space Telescope
Topical Session, Tuesday, June 1, 2004, 8:30-10:00am, 10:45am-12:30pm, 2:30-4:00pm, 4:15-6:00pm, 601

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[33.19] Observations of Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope

L. Armus (Spitzer Science Center), V. Charmandaris, H.W.W. Spoon, J.R. Houck (Cornell University), B.T. Soifer (Spitzer Science Center), B. Brandl (Leiden University), P. Appleton, H.I. Teplitz (Spitzer Science Center), S.J.U Higdon, D.W. Weedman, D. Devost (Cornell University), P. Morris (Spitzer Science Center), K. Uchida (Cornell University), J. Van Cleve (Ball Aerospace), G.C. Sloan (Cornell University), C. Grillmair, M. Burgdorf, S. Fajardo-Acosta, J. Ingalls (Spitzer Science Center), J. Higdon, L. Hao, J. Bernard-Salas, T.L. Herter (Cornell University), J. Troeltzsch, B. Unruh (Ball Aerospace)

Ultraluminous Infrared Galaxies (ULIRGs) have power outputs rivalling quasars, yet they emit nearly all of their energy in the mid and far-infrared. Both starbursts and dust-enshrouded AGN have been implicated as the power sources in ULIRGs. While rare in the local Universe, ULIRGs may play a dominant role in producing the far-infrared background as well as the star formation energy density at high redshifts. We are conducting a large survey with the IRS on Spitzer to obtain spectra of over 100 ULIRGs with redshifts of 0.02 < z < 0.80. We will present the first results from this survey, concentrating on the superb sensitivity of the IRS for uncovering hidden AGN, measuring warm molecular gas, and detecting organic ices in the nuclei of these remarkable galaxies.

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