miniTAO/ANIR Paα SURVEY OF LOCAL LIRGs

ANIR (Atacama Near InfraRed camera) is a near infrared camera for the University of Tokyo Atacama 1m telescope, installed at the summit of Co. Chajnantor (5,640 m altitude) in northern Chile. The high altitude and extremely low water vapor (PWV = 0.5 mm) of the site enable us to perform observation of hydrogen $Pa{\alpha}$ emission line at $1.8751{\mu}m$. Since its first light observation in June 2009, we have been carrying out a $Pa{\alpha}$ narrow-band imaging survey of nearby luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), and have obtained $Pa{\alpha}$ for 38 nearby LIRGs listed in AKARI/FIS-PSC at the velocity of recession between 2,800 km/s and 8,100 km/s. LIRGs are affected by a large amount of dust extinction ($A_V$~ 3 mag), produced by their active star formation activities. Because $Pa{\alpha}$ is the strongest hydrogen recombination line in the infrared wavelength ranges, it is a good and direct tracer of dust-enshrouded star forming regions, and enables us to probe the star formation activities in LIRGs. We find that LIRGs have two star-forming modes. The origin of the two modes probably come from differences between merging stage and/or star-forming process.