Description
We use Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE), AKARI, and Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) data to select local analogs of high-redshift (z~2) dust obscured galaxies (DOGs). We identify 47 local DOGs with S_12{mu}m_/S_0.22{mu}m_>=892 and S_12{mu}m_>20mJy at 0.05<z<0.08 in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data release 7. The infrared (IR) luminosities of these DOGs are in the range 3.4x10^10^(L_{sun}_)<~L_IR_<~7.0x10^11^(L_{sun}_) with a median L_IR_ of 2.1x10^11^(L_{sun}_). We compare the physical properties of local DOGs with a control sample of galaxies that have lower S_12{mu}m_/S_0.22{mu}m_ but have similar redshift, IR luminosity, and stellar mass distributions. Both WISE 12{mu}m and GALEX near-ultraviolet (NUV) flux densities of DOGs differ from the control sample of galaxies, but the difference is much larger in the NUV. Among the 47 DOGs, 36%+/-7% have small axis ratios in the optical (i.e., b/a<0.6), larger than the fraction among the control sample (17%+/-3%). There is no obvious sign of interaction for many local DOGs. No local DOGs have companions with comparable optical magnitudes closer than ~50kpc. The large- and small-scale environments of DOGs are similar to the control sample. Many physical properties of local DOGs are similar to those of high-z DOGs, even though the IR luminosities of local objects are an order of magnitude lower than for the high-z objects: the presence of two classes (active galactic nuclei- and star formation-dominated) of DOGs, abnormal faintness in the UV rather than extreme brightness in the mid-IR, and diverse optical morphology. These results suggest a common underlying physical origin of local and high-z DOGs. Both seem to represent the high-end tail of the dust obscuration distribution resulting from various physical mechanisms rather than a unique phase of galaxy evolution.
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