Tanio Diaz-Santos (Caltech)

Tanio Diaz-Santos Colloquium: An Infrared View on the Star Formation Properties of local Luminous Infrared Gal

Abstract

Title: An Infrared View on the Star Formation Properties of local Luminous Infrared Galaxies

Abstract: Luminous Infrared Galaxies, LIRGs, with thermal IR[8-1000 μm] dust emission in excess of 10^11 L_sun, represent a key stage in galaxy formation and evolution. Recent studies have shown that the compactness of the SF is related to the mode through which these galaxies form new stars, both locally and at high-z: a rapid mode for starbursts, and a more quiescent mode for disks, with the starburst mode likely associated with major mergers and compact SF. I will present results from a complete sample of local LIRGs, the Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS), which covers the entire sequence of interaction between galaxies, from distant pairs to late stage mergers. I will focus the discussion on the first results from our Herschel/PACS survey of the most important far-IR emission lines in the GOALS sample. In particular, I will talk about our very recent findings regarding the [CII]158um emission line -- the line that will be systematically used in the following years to put constraints on the properties of the inter-stellar medium of IR-luminous galaxies detected at high redshifts in cosmological surveys to be carried out by ALMA.