MidInfrared Diagnostics of LINERs.pdfVIP

To appear in ApJL Mid-Infrared Diagnostics of LINERs E. Sturm, 1 D. Rupke, 2 A. Contursi, 1 D.-C. Kim, 2 D. Lutz, 1 H. Netzer, 1,3 S. Veilleux, 2 R. Genzel, 1 M. Lehnert, 1 L. J. Tacconi, 1 D. Maoz, 3 J. Mazzarella, 4 S. Lord, 4 D. 6 Sanders, 5 A. Sternberg 3 0 0 2 ABSTRACT t c O 6 We report results from the first mid-infrared spectroscopic study of a com- 2 prehensive sample of 33 LINERs, observed with the Spitzer Space Telescope. 1 We compare the properties of two different LINER populations: infrared-faint v LINERs, with LINER emission arising mostly in compact nuclear regions, and 2 7 infrared-luminous LINERs, which often show spatially extended (non-AGN) 7 LINER emission. We show that these two populations can be easily distin- 0 1 guished by their mid-infrared spectra in three different ways: (i) their mid-IR 6 0 spectral energy distributions (SEDs), (ii) the emission features of polycyclic aro- / matic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and (iii) various combinations of IR fine-structure h p line ratios. IR-luminous LINERs show mid-IR SEDs typical of starburst galax- - o ies, while the mid-IR SEDs of IR-faint LINERs are much bluer. PAH flux ratios r t are significantly different in the two groups. Fine structure emission lines from s a highly excited gas, such as [O IV], are detected in both populations, suggesting : v the presence of an additional AGN also in a large fraction of IR-bright LINERs, i X which contributes little to the combined mid-IR light. The two LI