Open AccessHubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 observations of hyperluminous infrared galaxies
Author(s) -
Farrah D.,
Verma A.,
Oliver S.,
RowanRobinson M.,
McMahon R.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
monthly notices of the royal astronomical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.058
H-Index - 383
eISSN - 1365-2966
pISSN - 0035-8711
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-8711.2002.04991.x
Subject(s) - physics , astrophysics , qsos , galaxy , luminous infrared galaxy , astronomy , infrared , quasar , redshift , gravitational lens , population , active galactic nucleus , demography , sociology
We present Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 I ‐band imaging for a sample of nine hyperluminous infrared galaxies (HLIRGs) spanning a redshift range. Three of the sample have morphologies showing evidence for interactions and six are quasi‐stellar objects (QSOs). Host galaxies in the QSOs are detected reliably out to. The detected QSO host galaxies have an elliptical morphology with scalelengths spanning and absolute k ‐corrected magnitudes spanning There is no clear correlation between the infrared (IR) power source and the optical morphology. None of the sources in the sample, including F15307+3252, shows any evidence for gravitational lensing. We infer that the IR luminosities are thus real. Based on these results, and previous studies of HLIRGs, we conclude that this class of object is broadly consistent with being a simple extrapolation of the ULIRG population to higher luminosities; ULIRGs being mainly violently interacting systems powered by starbursts and/or active galactic nuclei. Only a small number of sources, the infrared luminosities of which exceed 10 13 L ⊙ , are intrinsically less luminous objects that have been boosted by gravitational lensing.