X-ray selected star-forming galaxies: the mid-IR view
Abstract
A key development from recent Chandra and XMM-Newton surveys has been the compilation of the first non-local (z=0.01-1) X-ray selected sample of normal galaxy candidates, with X-ray emission dominated by star-formation rather than AGN activity. This has opened the way to explore, for the first time, the star-formation history of the Universe at X-rays, providing information that is complementary to that obtained from other wavebands. However, concern has been raised for possible contamination of the X-ray selected star-forming samples by heavily obscured or low-level AGN activity that remains unidentified at the optical and the X-ray wavelengths. Addressing this issue is clearly essential to establish the link between X-ray emission and star-formation activity. This proposal aims to address this point using the unprecedented sensitivity of Spitzer to obtain low resolution mid-IR spectroscopy for a unique low-z X-ray selected star-forming galaxy sample. These observations will be used to (i) identify hidden AGNs using the diagnostic power of mid-IR spectroscopy and (ii) provide a quantitative relation between star-formation and X-ray luminosity for an X-ray selected galaxy sample (as opposed to optically selected samples studied todate).
- Publication:
-
Spitzer Proposal
- Pub Date:
- May 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006sptz.prop30605G