Identification of a Complete 160 micron Flux-Limited Sample of Infrared Galaxies in the ISO Lockman Hole 1-Deg^2 Deep Fields: Source Properties and Evidence for Strong Evolution in the FIR Luminosity Function for ULIRGs

We have identified a complete, flux-limited, (S_160>120 mJy), sample of 160 micron-selected sources from Spitzer observations of the 1-deg^2 ISO Deep Field region in the Lockman Hole. Ground-based UV, optical and near-infrared (NIR) photometry and optical spectroscopy have been used to determine colors, redshifts and masses for the complete sample of 40 galaxies. Spitzer-IRAC+MIPS photometry, supplemented by ISOPHOT data at 90 micron and 170 micron, has been used to calculate accurate total infrared luminosities, LIR(8-1000 micron), and to determine the IR luminosity function (LF) of luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs). The maximum observed redshift is z~0.80 and the maximum total infrared luminosity is log(L_IR/L_Sun)=12.74. Over the luminosity range log(L_IR/L_Sun)=10-12, the LF for LIRGs in the Lockman Hole Deep Field is similar to that found previously for local sources at similar infrared luminosities. The mean host galaxy mass, log(M/M_Sun)=10.7, and dominance of HII-region spectral types, is also similar to what has been found for local LIRGs, suggesting that intense starbursts likely power the bulk of the infrared luminosity for sources in this range of LIR. However for the most luminous sources, log(L_IR/L_Sun)>12.0, we find evidence for strong evolution in the LF \propto (1+z)6\pm1, assuming pure number density evolution. These ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) have a larger mean host mass, log(M/M_Sun)=11.0, and exhibit disturbed morphologies consistent with strong-interactions/mergers, and they are also more likely to be characterized by starburst-AGN composite or AGN spectral types.