The Great Observatories All-sky LIRG Survey ( GOALS ) consists of a complete sample of 202 Luminous Infrared Galaxies ( LIRGs ) selected from the IRAS Revised Bright Galaxy Sample ( RBGS ) .
The galaxies span the full range of interaction stages , from isolated galaxies to interacting pairs to late stage mergers .
We present a comparison of the UV and infrared properties of 135 galaxies in GOALS observed by GALEX and Spitzer .
For interacting galaxies with separations greater than the resolution of GALEX and Spitzer ( \sim 2 - 6 ^ { \prime \prime } ) , we assess the UV and IR properties of each galaxy individually .
The contribution of the FUV to the measured SFR ranges from 0.2 % to 17.9 % , with a median of 2.8 % and a mean of 4.0 \pm 0.4 % .
The specific star formation rate of the GOALS sample is extremely high , with a median value ( 3.9 \times 10 ^ { -10 } ~ { } { yr } ^ { -1 } ) that is comparable to the highest specific star formation rates seen in the Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey sample .
We examine the position of each galaxy on the IR excess–UV slope ( IRX- \beta ) diagram as a function of galaxy properties , including IR luminosity and interaction stage .
The LIRGs on average have greater IR excesses than would be expected based on their UV colors if they obeyed the same relations as starbursts with L _ { IR } < 10 ^ { 11 } L _ { \odot } or normal late-type galaxies .
The ratio of L _ { IR } to the value one would estimate from the IRX- \beta relation published for lower luminosity starburst galaxies ranges from 0.2 to 68 , with a median value of 2.7 .
A minimum of 19 \% of the total IR luminosity in the RBGS is produced in LIRGs and ULIRGs with red UV colors ( \beta > 0 ) .
Among resolved interacting systems , 32 \% contain one galaxy which dominates the IR emission while the companion dominates the UV emission .
Only 21 \% of the resolved systems contain a single galaxy which dominates both wavelengths .