We present the mid-infrared (MIR) luminosity function (LF) of local (z < 0.3) star-forming (SF) galaxies in the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) field. This work is based on the NEP-Wide point source catalogue and the spectroscopic redshift (z) data for 1700 galaxies obtained by the optical follow-up survey with MMT/Hectospec and WIYN/Hydra. The AKARI's continuous 2 - 24 μm coverage and the spectroscopic redshifts enable us to determine the spectral energy distribution (SED) in the mid-infrared and derive the luminosity functions of galaxies. Our 8 μm LF finds good agreements with the results from SWIRE field over the wide luminosity range, while showing signicant difference from the NOAO deep data in the faint end. The comparison with higher-z sample shows significant luminosity evolution from z > 0.3 to local universe. 12 μm LF also shows a clear indication of luminosity evolution.
The extragalactic background suggests half the energy generated by stars was reprocessed into the infrared (IR) by dust. At z1.3, 90% of star formation is obscured by dust. To fully understand the cosmic star formation history, it is critical to investigate infrared emission. AKARI has made deep mid-IR observation using its continuous 9-band filters in the NEP field (5.4 deg2), using 10% of the entire pointed observations available throughout its lifetime. However, there remain 11,000 AKARI infrared sources undetected with the previous CFHT/Megacam imaging (r ~25.9ABmag). Redshift and IR luminosity of these sources are unknown. These sources may contribute signicantly to the cosmic star-formation rate density (CSFRD). For example, if they all lie at 1< z <2, the CSFRD will be twice as high at the epoch. We are carrying out deep imaging of the NEP eld in 5 broad bands (g; r; i; z; and y) using Hyper Suprime-Camera (HSC), which has 1.5 deg field of view in diameter on Subaru 8m telescope. This will provide photometric redshift information, and thereby IR luminosity for the previously-undetected 11,000 faint AKARI IR sources. Combined with AKARI's mid-IR AGN/SF diagnosis, and accurate mid- IR luminosity measurement, this will allow a complete census of cosmic star-formation/AGN accretion history obscured by dust.
Understanding infrared (IR) luminosity is fundamental to understanding the cosmic star formation history and AGN evolution, since their most intense stages are often obscured by dust. Japanese infrared satellite, AKARI, provided unique data sets to probe this both at low and high redshifts. The AKARI performed an all sky survey in 6 IR bands (9, 18, 65, 90, 140, and 160μm ) with 3-10 times better sensitivity than IRAS, covering the crucial far-IR wavelengths across the peak of the dust emission. Combined with a better spatial resolution, AKARI can measure the total infrared luminosity ( LTIR) of individual galaxies much more precisely, and thus, the total infrared luminosity density of the local Universe. In the AKARI NEP deep field, we construct restframe 8μm, 12μm , and total infrared (TIR) luminosity functions (LFs) at 0.15 < z < 2.2 using 4,128 infrared sources. A continuous filter coverage in the mid-IR wavelength (2.4, 3.2, 4.1, 7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24μm ) by the AKARI satellite allows us to estimate restframe 8μm and 12μm luminosities without using a large extrapolation based on a SED fit, which was the largest uncertainty in previous work. By combining these two results, we reveal dust-hidden cosmic star formation history and AGN evolution from z = 0 to z = 2.2, all probed by the AKARI satellite.
An overview of the North Ecliptic Pole (NEP) deep multi-wavelength survey covering from X-ray to radio wavelengths is presented. The main science objective of this multi-wavelength project is to unveil the star-formation and AGN activities obscured by dust in the violent epoch of the Universe (z=0.5-2), when the star formation and black-hole evolution activities were much stronger than the present. The NEP deep survey with AKARI/IRC consists of two survey projects: shallow wide (8.2 sq. deg, NEP-Wide) and the deep one (0.6 sq. deg, NEP-Deep). The NEP-Deep provides us with a 15 μm or 18 μm selected sample of several thousands of galaxies, the largest sample ever made at these wavelengths. A continuous filter coverage at mid-IR wavelengths (7, 9, 11, 15, 18, and 24 μ m ) is unique and vital to diagnose the contribution from starbursts and AGNs in the galaxies at the violent epoch. The recent updates of the ancillary data are also provided: optical/near-IR magnitudes (Subaru, CFHT), X-ray (Chandra), FUV/NUV (GALEX), radio (WSRT, GMRT), optical spectra (Keck/DEIMOS etc.), Subaru/FMOS, Herschel/SPIRE, and JCMT/SCUBA-2.