DOE OSTI2015
We present new Institut de Radioastronomie Millimétrique (IRAM) 30 m spectroscopic observations of the ∼88 GHz band, including emission from the CCH(N=1→0) multiplet, HCN (J=1→0), HCO{sup +}(J=1→0), and HNC(J=1→0), for a sample of 58 local luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies from the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS). By combining our new IRAM data with literature data and Spitzer/IRS spectroscopy, we study the correspondence between these putative tracers of dense gas and the relative contribution of active galactic nuclei (AGNs) and star formation to the mid-infrared luminosity of each system. We find the HCN (1–0) emission to be enhanced in AGN-dominated systems (〈 L{sub HCN(1−0)}{sup ′}/L{sub HCO{sup +}(1−0)}{sup ′} 〉=1.84), compared to composite and starburst-dominated systems (〈 L{sub HCN(1−0)}{sup ′}/L{sub HCO{sup +}(1−0)}{sup ′} 〉 =1.14, and 0.88, respectively). However, some composite and starburst systems have L{sub HCN(1−0)}{sup ′}/L{sub HCO{sup +}(1−0)}{sup ′} ratios comparable to those of AGNs, indicating that enhanced HCN emission is not uniquely associated with energetically dominant AGNs. After removing AGN-dominated systems from the sample, we find a linear relationship (within the uncertainties) between log{sub 10}(L{sub HCN(1−0)}{sup ′}) and log{sub 10}(L{sub IR}), consistent with most previous findings. L{sub HCN(1−0)}{sup ′}/L{sub IR}, typically interpreted as the dense-gas depletion time, appears to have no systematic trend with L{sub IR} for our sample of luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxies, and has significant scatter. The galaxy-integrated L{sub HCN(1−0)}{sup ′} and L{sub HCO{sup +}(1−0)}{sup ′} emission do not appear to have a simple interpretation in terms of the AGN dominance or the star formation rate, and are likely determined by multiple processes, including density and radiative effects.
79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗