Characterising star forming and luminous infrared galaxies with the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT)

Field: Physics and Astronomy (Physical Sciences)

Context: Stellar population modelling is a popular technique that has been extensively applied to main sequence galaxies. Yet starburst galaxies and Luminous InfraRed Galaxies (LIRGs) have, so far, not been studied as much using the method. LIRGs in the local universe are known to be highly interacting galaxies with strong star formation in obscured environments. Still, LIRGs also have diversity in terms of morphology and mode and location of star formation. Aim: This thesis investigates the stellar population properties of a group of 52 starbursts and luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) in the local universe that forms part of the SUperNovae and starBurst in the InfraReD (SUNBIRD) survey. The galaxies in a distance range of 3.5 < Dl < 280 Mpc and infrared luminosity of 10.30 < LIR < 11.91 L were observed with the Southern African Large Telescope in long-slit spectroscopy mode. Method: The stellar populations of the galaxies are derived by fitting Bruzual &amp; Charlot (2003) templates to the reduced spectra using STARLIGHT software with a Monte Carlo method implemented to recover uncertainties on age, metallicity and extinction. The derived stellar population models are then subtracted from the observed spectra to produce emission spectra from which emission line fluxes are measured. Both integrated spectra and spatially resolved apertures are extracted to be analysed in this work. Results: The light-weighted and mass weighted age of the sample is found to be 160 Myr and 7.2 Gyr respectively. The star formation history of the sample shows a rise of activity in the past ∼ 50 Myr and with a jump of an order of magnitude in the past 3 Myr. Analysis of the stellar metallicity hints at inflow of pristine gas, which decreases the observed metallicity content as well as ignites SF-activity. Analysis of the oxygen abundances shows that while LIRGs and SF galaxies are under abundant, their under-abundance may have previously been over-estimated as compared to main sequence galaxies. The radial age profile of the sample is flat, similar to that of late-type Sd galaxies. Interaction is found to cause a drop in the age of apertures although the post-merging stages shows continued star forming activity in the nuclear region. The stellar metallicity gradient is found to be −0.029 ± 0.018 dex/kpc, comparable to Sb or Sbc galaxies favouring an inside-out formation scenario for the galaxies. As interaction stage increases, both age and metallicity gradients are seen to get flatter, eventually getting slightly positive. The more active interaction stages are HII driven, while isolated and post merging stages shows higher AGN activity. The current work offers an update on the abundances of IR dominated galaxies from the previous work done by Rupke et al. (2008). The formation scenario of our LIRGs in the local universe is shown to be in line with the scenario put forward by Hopkins et al. (2008). Future works with medium resolution spectra acquired during the course of this thesis should allow for detection of gas inflows and better constrain the different ionising mechanisms involved at different interaction stages.