Radio and infrared emission from Markarian starburst galaxies

Abstract

Radio and infrared emission were compared for a sample of 58 Markarian starburst galaxies, chosen to cover a wide range of 60-micron luminosity density. New radio observations were from the VLA at 6 and 20 cm in the B and A configurations. IRAS data were reanalyzed for 25 of the starbursts that were previously undetected at either 25 or 100 microns. The correlation between the global radio and IR emission for the starbursts in the sample is strongest at 25 and 60 microns, wavelengths in which the warm dust dominates. The radio spectral index steepens away from the center. This indicates that nonthermal emission leaks out of the starburst region. The change in the spectral index implies that while nonthermal sources dominate in the entire region, the bulk of the interior emission at 6 cm is thermal. The radio spectral index does not appear to vary as a function of the infrared luminosity or the infrared colors, which indicates that the slope of the initial mass function does not appear to be a function of either the mass or temperature of the starburst.