Redshifts from Spitzer Spectra for Optically Faint, Radio Selected Infrared Sources

Spectra have been obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Space Telescope for 18 optically faint sources (R > 23.9,mag) having f(nu) (24um) > 1.0,mJy and having radio detections at 20 cm to a limit of 115 microJy. Sources are within the Spitzer First Look Survey. Redshifts are determined for 14 sources from strong silicate absorption features (12 sources) or strong PAH emission features (2 sources), with median redshift of 2.1. Results confirm that optically faint sources of ~1 mJy at 24um are typically at redshifts z ~ 2, verifying the high efficiency in selecting high redshift sources based on extreme infrared to optical flux ratio, and indicate that 24um sources which also have radio counterparts are not systematically different than samples chosen only by their infrared to optical flux ratios. Using the parameter q = log[f(nu)(24um)/f(nu)(20 cm)] 17 of the 18 sources observed have values of 0 1.0mJy are predominately AGN and represent the upper end of the luminosity function of dusty sources at z ~ 2. Based on the characteristics of the sources observed so far, we predict that the nature of sources selected at 24um will change for f(nu)(24um) < 0.5 mJy to sources dominated primarily by starbursts.