GBT25A-376

A GBT Survey of OHMs in Northern GOALS LIRGs

Abstract

The Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey (GOALS) is an extensive observational campaign aimed at comprehensively studying luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs) and their impact on galaxy evolution. While some LIRGs produce OH megamasers (OHMs), 1667 MHz masers produced by major galaxy mergers, the underlying physical conditions required to produce this rare phenomena is still an open question. We propose a GBT survey of the observable GOALS LIRGs to characterize the OH occupation fraction and develop a comprehensive data set for analyzing the population differences between masing and non-masing LIRGs. The extensive ancillary data obtained by the GOALS team will allow for an in-depth analysis of what steers a major galaxy merger to produce an OHM, including a reanalysis of the dense gas fraction hypothesis. This survey will target 170 GOALS LIRGs, 22 of which are known OHM hosts. In addition, this coverage of previous OHM detections will allow us to characterize the long-term variability of OHM emission, a severely understudied component of OHMs. This survey is crucial for investigating the mechanisms required to produce OHM hosts and will serve as a foundational study for understanding the role of masing LIRGs for years to come.

Investigators

Name	Institution
Hayley Roberts *	Minnesota, University of; Colorado at Boulder, University of
Jim Braatz	National Radio Astronomy Observatory
George Privon	National Radio Astronomy Observatory; Florida, University of

* indicates the PI