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Ultraluminous infrared galaxies and the radio-optical correlation for quasarsThrough analysis of available optical spectrophotometric data and radio flux density measurements in the literature, it is demonstrated that a good correlation exists between the radio power and bolometric luminosity of the optically-selected OSOs in the Bright Quasar Sample (BOS) of Schmidt and Green (1983). We have recently used VLBI measurements of a sample of ultraluminous infrared galaxies to infer the likely existence of radio-quiet Active Galactic Nuclei (AGNs) deeply enshrouded in dust within their nuclei (Lonsdale, Smith, and Lonsdale 1993). We employ the radio-bolometric luminosity correlation for the BQS quasars to test whether these hypothetical buried AGNs can be energetically responsible for the observed far-infrared luminosities of the ultraluminous infrared galaxies. The ultraluminous infrared galaxies are shown to follow the same relation between radio core power and bolometric luminosity as the radio-quiet QSOs, suggesting that buried AGNs can account for essentially all the observed infrared luminosity, and raising the possibility that any starburst which may be in progress may not be energetically dominant. The broader implications of the radio-optical correlation in quasars for AGNs and luminous infrared galaxy models and the use of radio astronomy as a probe of the central powerhouse in radio quiet AGNs and luminous infrared galaxies are briefly discussed.
Document ID
19950036964
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Lonsdale, Carol J.
(NASA Jet Propulsion Lab. Pasadena, CA, United States)
Smith, Harding E.
(Univ. of California, San Diego, CA United States)
Lonsdale, Colin J.
(MIT, Westford, MA United States)
Date Acquired
August 16, 2013
Publication Date
January 10, 1995
Publication Information
Publication: Astrophysical Journal, Part 1
Volume: 438
Issue: 2
ISSN: 0004-637X
Subject Category
Astrophysics
Accession Number
95A68563
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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