We carried out an unbiased, spectroscopic survey using the low-resolution module of the infrared spectrograph (IRS) onboard Spitzer targeting two 2.6 square arcminute regions in the GOODS-North field. The IRS was used in a spectral mapping mode with 5hr of effective integration time per pixel. One region was covered between 14 and 21um and the other between 20 and 35um. We extracted spectra for 45 sources. About 84% of the sources have reported detections by GOODS at 24um, with a median f_{nu}_(24um)~100uJy. All but one source are detected in all four IRAC bands, 3.6 to 8um. We use a new cross-correlation technique to measure redshifts and estimate IRS spectral types; this was successful for ~60% of the spectra. Fourteen sources show significant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission, four mostly SiO absorption, eight present mixed spectral signatures (low PAH and/or SiO) and two show a single line in emission. For the remaining 17, no spectral features were detected. Redshifts range from z~0.2 to z~2.2, with a median of 1. IR luminosities are roughly estimated from 24um flux densities, and have median values of 2.2x10^11^L_{sun}_ and 7.5x10^11^L_{sun}_ at z~1 and z~2, respectively. This sample has fewer active galactic nuclei than previous faint samples observed with the IRS, which we attribute to the fainter luminosities reached here.
We report an astrochemical study on the evolution of interstellar molecular clouds and consequent star formation in the center of the barred spiral galaxy M83. We used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to image molecular species indicative of shocks (SiO and CH_3_OH), dense cores (N_2_H^+^), and photodissociation regions (CN and CCH), as well as a radio recombination line (H41{alpha}) tracing active star-forming regions. M83 has a circumnuclear gas ring that is joined at two intersections by gas streams from the leading- edge gas lanes on the bar. We found elevated abundances of the shock and dense-core tracers in one of the orbit-intersecting areas, and found peaks of CN and H41{alpha} downstream. In the other orbit-intersection area, we found a similar enhancement of the shock tracers, but less variation of other tracers, and no sign of active star formation in the stream. We propose that the observed chemical variation or lack of it is due to the presence or absence of collision-induced evolution of molecular clouds and induced star formation. This work presents the clearest case of the chemical evolution in the circumnuclear rings of barred galaxies thanks to the ALMA resolution and sensitivity.