Radio and Infrared Selected Optically Invisible Sources in the Bo\"otes NDWFS

TL;DR

This study combines infrared and radio data to analyze optically invisible sources, revealing their spectral energy distributions, luminosities, and potential evolutionary stages of AGN and starburst activity.

Contribution

It provides detailed characterization of optically invisible sources using multi-wavelength data, highlighting their AGN and starburst properties and evolutionary implications.

Findings

Most OIMSs have steep power-law SEDs indicating obscured AGN.

OIMSs are extremely luminous in IR, suggesting buried QSOs.

OIRSs show diverse SEDs, some starburst dominated, with many likely at z > 2.

Abstract

We have combined data from the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey in Bootes and the Spitzer Space Telescope to determine basic properties for sixteen optically "invisible" MIPS 24um (OIMS) and thirty-five optically "invisible" radio (OIRS) soruces, including their spectral energy distributions (SED) and luminosities. Most OIMSs possess steep power-law SEDs over lambda(rest) = 1-10 um, indicating the presence of obscured AGN in agreement with Spitzer spectroscopy. These objects are extremely luminous at rest-frame near and mid-IR (nu L_nu(5um) ~ 10^{38}-10^{39} W), consistent with accretion near the Eddington limit and further implying that they host buried QSOs. The majority of the IRAC detected OIRSs have flat 3.6 to 24um SEDs, implying comparable emission from stellar photospheres and hot AGN illuminated dust. This may reflect relatively small amounts of dust close to the central engine or current low mass accretion rates. A small subset of OIRSs appear to be starburst dominated with photometric redshifts from 1.0 to 4.5. The OIMSs and OIRSs with significant starburst components have similar L_K and stellar masses (M* ~ 10^{11} M_solar) assuming minimal AGN contribution. Roughly half of the OIRSs are not detected by Spitzer's IRAC or MIPS. These are most likely z > 2 radio galaxies. The IRAC detected OIRSs are more likely than OIMSs to appear non point-like in the 3.6um and 4.5um images, suggesting that interactions play a role in triggering their activity. The AGN powered OIMSs may represent sub-millimeter galaxies making the transition from starburst to accretion dominance in their evolution to current epoch massive ellipticals.