Multiphase Analysis of (U)LIRG Nuclear Activity (MAUNA). I. Spatially Resolved Optical Emission-Line Diagnostics

@misc{kader2026multiphase,
  title = {{Multiphase Analysis of (U)LIRG Nuclear Activity (MAUNA). I. Spatially Resolved Optical Emission-Line Diagnostics}},
  author = {Justin A. Kader and Vivian U and Marina Bianchin and Yiqing Song and George C. Privon and Sabrina Stierwalt and Tanio Diaz-Santos and Lee Armus and Vassilis Charmandaris and Ezequiel Treister and Rosalie McGurk and Hanae Inami and Jeffrey A. Rich and Sean T. Linden and Anne M. Medling and Loreto Barcos-Muñoz and Gabriela Canalizo and Aaron S. Evans and Kirsten L. Larson and Tianmu Gao and Thomas Lai and Laura Lenkic and Jaya Nagarajan-Swenson and Justin Howell and Cristina M. Lofaro and Matthew A. Malkan and María Sánchez-García and Christopher D. Martin and Mateusz Matuszewski and Claire E. Max and Joseph M. Mazzarella and James D. Neill and Nikolaus Z. Prusinski and Raymond Remigio and David Sanders and Jason Surace},
  howpublished = {arXiv},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2610.14653},
  eprint = {2610.14653},
  archivePrefix = {arXiv},
  url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.14653},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}

TY  - UNPB
TI  - Multiphase Analysis of (U)LIRG Nuclear Activity (MAUNA). I. Spatially Resolved Optical Emission-Line Diagnostics
AU  - Justin A. Kader
AU  - Vivian U
AU  - Marina Bianchin
AU  - Yiqing Song
AU  - George C. Privon
AU  - Sabrina Stierwalt
AU  - Tanio Diaz-Santos
AU  - Lee Armus
AU  - Vassilis Charmandaris
AU  - Ezequiel Treister
AU  - Rosalie McGurk
AU  - Hanae Inami
AU  - Jeffrey A. Rich
AU  - Sean T. Linden
AU  - Anne M. Medling
AU  - Loreto Barcos-Muñoz
AU  - Gabriela Canalizo
AU  - Aaron S. Evans
AU  - Kirsten L. Larson
AU  - Tianmu Gao
AU  - Thomas Lai
AU  - Laura Lenkic
AU  - Jaya Nagarajan-Swenson
AU  - Justin Howell
AU  - Cristina M. Lofaro
AU  - Matthew A. Malkan
AU  - María Sánchez-García
AU  - Christopher D. Martin
AU  - Mateusz Matuszewski
AU  - Claire E. Max
AU  - Joseph M. Mazzarella
AU  - James D. Neill
AU  - Nikolaus Z. Prusinski
AU  - Raymond Remigio
AU  - David Sanders
AU  - Jason Surace
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/10
PB  - arXiv
DO  - 10.48550/arxiv.2610.14653
UR  - https://arxiv.org/abs/2610.14653
AB  - We present resolved optical integral-field spectroscopy of the 32 luminous and ultraluminous infrared galaxy systems of the Multiphase Analysis of (U)LIRG Nuclear Activity (MAUNA) sample, drawn from the GOALS survey and selected to have JWST/MIRI medium-resolution spectrometer (MRS) observations. The data set combines new Keck/KCWI observations of 10 systems with archival VLT/MUSE cubes for 22 systems, covering Hβ to [S II] at ~1 arcsecond spatial resolution (~0.9 kpc at the sample median distance). Using the optical [N II]/Hα BPT diagram, we find that composite and LINER-like excitation together account for most of the classified area (median fractions 0.44 and 0.26), while Seyfert-like gas covers a median fraction of 0.02 but carries a far larger proportion of the line luminosity where it is present. Both the projected size of the Seyfert-classified region, R_Sy=0.08-$7.5$ kpc, and its [O III] luminosity increase with the bolometric AGN luminosity, with R_Sy∝ L_AGN,bol^0.54±0.18, as expected for gas photoionized at a constant ionization parameter. The scatter about the luminosity relation depends on dust opacity: the [O III] luminosity per unit AGN luminosity falls by 1.09±0.25 dex per unit depth of the 9.7 μm silicate absorption feature (Spearman ρ=−0.60, p=0.001). Optical excitation diagnostics therefore locate AGN-excited gas reliably but systematically underestimate the luminosity the AGN supplies to the host in the most obscured (U)LIRGs.
ER  -