Detections of water ice, hydrocarbons, and 3.3um PAH in z~2 ULIRGs

TL;DR

This study reports the first detections of water ice, hydrocarbons, and PAH features in z~2 ULIRGs, revealing molecular compositions, obscuration characteristics, and the prevalence of buried AGN at high redshift.

Contribution

It provides novel infrared spectral detections of molecular features in high-redshift ULIRGs, highlighting differences from local counterparts and suggesting a higher abundance of buried AGN at z~2.

Findings

Detection of water ice, hydrocarbons, and PAH features in z~2 ULIRGs.

Higher HAC-to-silicate ratios compared to the Milky Way.

Buried AGN are more common at z~2 than in the local universe.

Abstract

We present the first detections of the 3um water ice and 3.4um amorphous hydrocarbon (HAC) absorption features in z~2 ULIRGs. These are based on deep rest-frame 2-8um Spitzer IRS spectra of 11 sources selected for their appreciable silicate absorption. The HAC-to-silicate ratio for our z~2 sources is typically higher by a factor of 2-5 than that observed in the Milky Way. This HAC `excess' suggests compact nuclei with steep temperature gradients as opposed to predominantly host obscuration. Beside the above molecular absorption features, we detect the 3.3um PAH emission feature in one of our sources with three more individual spectra showing evidence for it. Stacking analysis suggests that water ice, hydrocarbons, and PAH are likely present in the bulk of this sample even when not individually detected. The most unexpected result of our study is the lack of clear detections of the 4.67um CO gas absorption feature. Only three of the sources show tentative signs of this feature and at significantly lower levels than has been observed in local ULIRGs. Overall, we find that the closest local analogs to our sources, in terms of 3-4um color, HAC-to-silicate and ice-to-silicate ratios, as well as low PAH equivalent widths are sources dominated by deeply obscured nuclei. Such sources form only a small fraction of ULIRGs locally and are commonly believed to be dominated by buried AGN. Our sample suggests that, in absolute number, such buried AGN are at least an order of magnitude more common at z~2 than today. The presence of PAH suggests that significant levels of star-formation are present even if the obscured AGN typically dominate the power budget.