Efstathiou, Andreas

We report the discovery of the first hyperluminous infrared galaxy (HyLIG) in the course of the European Large Area ISO Survey (ELAIS). This object has been detected by ISO at 6.7, 15 and 90 μm, and is found to be a broad-line, radio-quiet quasar at a redshift z = 1.099. From a detailed multicomponent model fit of the spectral energy distribution, we derive a total IR luminosity LIR (1-1000 μm) ≈ 1.0 × 1013 h-265 L⊙ (0 = 0.5), and discuss the possible existence of a starburst contributing to the far-IR output. Observations to date present no evidence for lens magnification. This galaxy is one of the very few HyLIGs with a X-ray detection. On the basis of its soft X-ray properties, we suggest that this broad-line object may be the face-on analogue of narrow-line, Seyfert-like HyLIGs.

The ISOPHOT Serendipity Survey utilized the slew time between ISO's pointed observations with strip scanning measurements of the sky in the far-infrared (FIR) at 170μm. The integral 170μm fluxes for compact sources derived from the slews are put on an absolute flux level by using a number of galaxies as calibrator sources observed with ISOPHOT's photometric mapping mode, supplemented by Serendipity Survey observations of two planets and two asteroids with available model fluxes. A first group of 115 well-observed sources with a high signal-to-noise ratio in all four detector pixels having a galaxy association were extracted from the slew data with low (I100μm ≤ 15 MJy/sr) cirrus background. For all but a few galaxies, the 170μm fluxes are determined for the first time, which represents a significant increase in the number of galaxies with measured FIR fluxes beyond the IRAS 100μm limit. The large fraction of sources with a high F170μm/F100μm flux ratio indicates that a very cold (T < 20 K) dust component is present in many galaxies. The typical mass of the coldest dust component is MDust = 107.5 ± 0.5 M⊙, a factor 2 - 10 larger than that derived from IRAS fluxes alone. As a consequence, the gas-to-dust ratios are much closer to the canonical value for the Milky Way. A similar Serendipity Survey with FIRST has the prospects of delivering FIR data with a much higher angular resolution (PACS) or at longer wavelengths (SPIRE) than ISOPHOT, thereby providing either crucial information for the identification of compact sources in confused regions or extending the spectral coverage for a large number of sources and finding rare classes of very cold FIR emitters.

The first set of compact sources observed in the ISOPHOT 170 μm Serendipity Survey is presented. From the slew data with low (I100μm ≤ 15 MJy/sr) cirrus background, 115 well-observed sources with a high signal-to-noise ratio in all detector pixels having a galaxy association were extracted. Of the galaxies with known optical morphologies, the vast majority are classified as spirals, barred spirals, or irregulars. The 170 μm fluxes measured from the Serendipity slews have been put on an absolute flux level by using calibration sources observed additionally with the photometric mapping mode of ISOPHOT. For all but a few galaxies, the 170 μm fluxes are determined for the first time, which represents a significant increase in the number of galaxies with measured Far-Infrared (FIR) fluxes beyond the IRAS 100 μm limit. The 170 μm fluxes cover the range 2 ≲ F170μm ≲ 100 Jy. Formulae for the integrated FIR fluxes F40-220μm and the total infrared fluxes F1-1000/μm incorporating the new 170 μm fluxes are provided. The large fraction of sources with a high F170μm/F100μm flux ratio indicates that a cold (T/Dust ≲ 20 K) dust component is present in many galaxies. The detection of such a cold dust component is crucial for the determination of the total dust mass in galaxies, and, in cases with a large F170μm/F100μm flux ratio, increases the dust mass by a significant factor. The typical mass of the coldest dust component is MDust = 107.5 ±0.5 M⊙, a factor 2-10 larger than that derived from IRAS fluxes alone. As a consequence, the majority of the derived gas-to-dust ratios are much closer to the canonical value of ≈ 160 for the Milky Way. By relaxing the selection cri-teria, it is expected that the Serendipity Survey will eventually lead to a catalog of 170 μm fluxes for ≈ 1000 galaxies.

We present an optical to near-infrared (NIR) selected astronomical catalogue covering 1270 deg2. This is the first attempt to systematically combine data from 23 of the premier extragalactic survey fields – the product of a vast investment of telescope time. The fields are those imaged by the Herschel Space Observatory that form the Herschel Extragalactic Legacy Project (HELP). Our catalogue of 170 million objects is constructed by a positional cross-match of 51 public surveys. This high-resolution optical, NIR, and mid-infrared catalogue is designed for photometric redshift estimation, extraction of fluxes in lower resolution far-infrared maps, and spectral energy distribution modelling. It collates, standardizes, and provides value added derived quantities including corrected aperture magnitudes and astrometry correction over the Herschel extragalactic wide fields for the first time. grizy fluxes are available on all fields with g-band data reaching 5σ point-source depths in a 2 arcsec aperture of 23.5, 24.4, and 24.6 (AB) mag at the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles, by area covered, across all HELP fields. It has K or Ks coverage over 1146 deg2 with depth percentiles of 20.2, 20.4, and 21.0 mag, respectively. The IRAC Ch 1 band is available over 273 deg2 with depth percentiles of 17.7, 21.4, and 22.2 mag, respectively. This paper defines the ‘masterlist’ objects for the first data release (DR1) of HELP. This large sample of standardized total and corrected aperture fluxes, uniform quality flags, and completeness measures provides large well-understood statistical samples over the full Herschel extragalactic sky.

Core collapse supernova (CCSN) rates suffer from large uncertainties as many CCSNe exploding in regions of bright background emission and significant dust extinction remain unobserved. Such a shortfall is particularly prominent in luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), which have high star formation (and thus CCSN) rates and host bright and crowded nuclear regions, where large extinctions and reduced search detection efficiency likely lead to a significant fraction of CCSNe remaining undiscovered. We present the first results of project SUNBIRD (Supernovae UNmasked By Infra-Red Detection), where we aim to uncover CCSNe that otherwise would remain hidden in the complex nuclear regions of LIRGs, and in this way improve the constraints on the fraction that is missed by optical seeing-limited surveys. We observe in the near-infrared 2.15 μm Ks-band, which is less affected by dust extinction compared to the optical, using the multiconjugate adaptive optics imager GeMS/GSAOI on Gemini South, allowing us to achieve a spatial resolution that lets us probe close in to the nuclear regions. During our pilot program and subsequent first full year we have discovered three CCSNe and one candidate with projected nuclear offsets as small as 200 pc. When compared to the total sample of LIRG CCSNe discovered in the near-IR and optical, we show that our method is singularly effective in uncovering CCSNe in nuclear regions and we conclude that the majority of CCSNe exploding in LIRGs are not detected as a result of dust obscuration and poor spatial resolution.

We present BeppoSAX observations of the southern S1 region in the European Large-Area Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) Survey (ELAIS). These observations cover an area of ∼1.7 deg2 and reach an on-axis (∼0.7 deg2) 2-10 keV (hard X-ray, or HX) sensitivity of ∼10-13 ergs s-1 cm-2. This is the first HX analysis of an ISOCAM survey. We detect nine sources with a signal-to-noise ratio SNRHX > 3, four additional sources with a 1.3-10 keV (total X-ray, or T) SNRT > 3, and two additional sources that seem to be associated with QSOs having SNRT > 2.9. The number densities of the SNRHX > 3 sources are consistent with the ASCA and BeppoSAX log N-log S functions. Six BeppoSAX sources have reliable ISOCAM 15 μm counterparts within ∼60″. All these ISOCAM sources have optical counterparts of R < 20 mag. Five of these sources have been previously optically classified, four as QSOs and one as a broad absorption line (BAL) QSO at z = 2.2. The remaining unclassified source has X-ray and photometric properties consistent with those of a nearby Seyfert galaxy. One further HX source has a 2.6 σ ISOCAM counterpart associated with a galaxy at z = 0.325. If this ISOCAM source is real, the HX/MIR properties suggest either an unusual QSO or a cD cluster galaxy. We have constructed MIR and HX spectral energy distributions to compute the expected HX/MIR ratios for these classes of objects up to z = 3.2 and assess the HX/MIR survey depth. The BAL QSO has an observed X-ray softness ratio and HX/MIR flux ratio similar to those of QSOs but different from those found for low-redshift BAL QSOs. This difference can be explained in terms of absorption, and it suggests that high-redshift BAL QSOs should be comparatively easy to detect in the HX band, allowing their true fraction in the high-redshift QSO population to be determined. The QSOs cover a wide redshift range (0.4 < z < 2.6) and have HX/MIR flux ratios consistent with those found for nearby IRAS and optically selected Palomar-Green QSOs. This suggests that MIR-selected QSOs of R < 20 mag come from the same population as optically selected QSOs. We confirm this with a comparison of the B/MIR flux ratios of MIR and blue-band-selected QSOs.