No Arabic abstract
The meaningful comparison of models of galaxy evolution to observations is critically dependent on the accurate treatment of dust attenuation. To investigate dust absorption and emission in galaxies we have assembled a sample of ~1000 galaxies with ultraviolet (UV) through infrared (IR) photometry from GALEX, SDSS, and Spitzer and optical spectroscopy from SDSS. The ratio of IR to UV emission (IRX) is used to constrain the dust attenuation in galaxies. We use the 4000A break as a robust and useful, although coarse, indicator of star formation history (SFH). We examine the relationship between IRX and the UV spectral slope (a common attenuation indicator at high-redshift) and find little dependence of the scatter on 4000A break strength. We construct average UV through far-IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) for different ranges of IRX, 4000A break strength, and stellar mass (M_*) to show the variation of the entire SED with these parameters. When binned simultaneously by IRX, 4000A break strength, and M_* these SEDs allow us to determine a low resolution average attenuation curve for different ranges of M_*. The attenuation curves thus derived are consistent with a lambda^{-0.7} attenuation law, and we find no significant variations with M_*. Finally, we show the relationship between IRX and the global stellar mass surface density and gas-phase-metallicity. Among star forming galaxies we find a strong correlation between IRX and stellar mass surface density, even at constant metallicity, a result that is closely linked to the well-known correlation between IRX and star-formation rate.
The Spitzer Infrared Nearby Galaxies Survey (SINGS) is carrying out a comprehensive multi-wavelength survey on a sample of 75 nearby galaxies. The 1-850um spectral energy distributions are presented using broadband imaging data from Spitzer, 2MASS, ISO, IRAS, and SCUBA. The infrared colors derived from the globally-integrated Spitzer data are generally consistent with the previous generation of models that were developed based on global data for normal star-forming galaxies, though significant deviations are observed. Spitzers excellent sensitivity and resolution also allow a detailed investigation of the infrared spectral energy distributions for various locations within the three large, nearby galaxies NGC3031 (M81), NGC5194 (M51), and NGC7331. Strong correlations exist between the local star formation rate and the infrared colors f_nu(70um)/f_nu(160um) and f_nu(24um)/f_nu(160um), suggesting that the 24 and 70um emission are useful tracers of the local star formation activity level. Preliminary evidence indicates that variations in the 24um emission, and not variations in the emission from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at 8um, drive the variations in the f_nu(8.0um)/f_nu(24um) colors within NGC3031, NGC5194, and NGC7331. If the galaxy-to-galaxy variations in spectral energy distributions seen in our sample are representative of the range present at high redshift then extrapolations of total infrared luminosities and star formation rates from the observed 24um flux will be uncertain at the factor-of-five level (total range). The corresponding uncertainties using the redshifted 8.0um flux (e.g. observed 24um flux for a z=2 source) are factors of 10-20. Considerable caution should be used when interpreting such extrapolated infrared luminosities.
The mean ages of early-type galaxies obtained from the analysis of optical spectra, give a mean age of 8 Gyr at z = 0, with 40% being younger than 6 Gyr. Independent age determinations are possible by using infrared spectra (5-21 microns), which we have obtained with the Infrared Spectrograph on the Spitzer Observatory. This age indicator is based on the collective mass loss rate of stars, where mass loss from AGB stars produces a silicate emission feature at 9-12 microns. This feature decreases more rapidly than the shorter wavelength continuum as a stellar population ages, providing an age indicator. From observations of 30 nearby early-type galaxies, 29 show a spectral energy distribution dominated by stars and one has significant emission from the ISM and is excluded. The infrared age indicators for the 29 galaxies show them all to be old, with a mean age of about 10 Gyr and a standard deviation of only a few Gyr. This is consistent with the ages inferred from the values of M/L_B, but is inconsistent with the ages derived from the optical line indices, which can be much younger. All of these age indicators are luminosity-weighted and should be correlated, even if multiple-age components are considered. The inconsistency indicates that there is a significant problem with either the infrared and the M/L_B ages, which agree, or with the ages inferred from the optical absorption lines.
Dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) are a subset of high-redshift (z approx 2) optically-faint ultra-luminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs, e.g. L_{IR} > 10^{12} Lsun). We present new far-infrared photometry, at 250, 350, and 500 um (observed-frame), from the Herschel Space Telescope for a large sample of 113 DOGs with spectroscopically measured redshifts. Approximately 60% of the sample are detected in the far-IR, confirming their high IR luminosities, which range from 10^{11.6} Lsun < L_{IR} (8-1000 um) <10^{13.6} Lsun. 90% of the Herschel detected DOGs in this sample are ULIRGs and 30% have L_{IR} > 10^{13} Lsun. The rest-frame near-IR (1 - 3 um) SEDs of the Herschel detected DOGs are predictors of their SEDs at longer wavelengths. DOGs with power-law SEDs in the rest-frame near-IR show observed-frame 250/24 um flux density ratios similar to the QSO-like local ULIRG, Mrk 231. DOGs with a stellar bump in their rest-frame near-IR show observed-frame 250/24 um flux density ratios similar to local star-bursting ULIRGs like NGC 6240. For the Herschel detected DOGs, accurate estimates (within approx 25%) of total IR luminosity can be predicted from their rest-frame mid-IR data alone (e.g. from Spitzer observed-frame 24 um luminosities). Herschel detected DOGs tend to have a high ratio of infrared luminosity to rest-frame 8 um luminosity (the IR8= L_{IR}(8-1000 um)/v L_{v}(8 um) parameter of Elbaz et al. 2011). Instead of lying on the z=1-2 infrared main-sequence of star forming galaxies (like typical LIRGs and ULIRGs at those epochs) the DOGs, especially large fractions of the bump sources, tend to lie in the starburst sequence. While, Herschel detected DOGs are similar to scaled
The nearby universe remains the best laboratory to understand physical properties of galaxies and is a reference for any comparison with high redshift observations. The all sky (or very large) surveys performed from the ultraviolet (UV) to the far-infrared (far-IR) gives us large datasets with a very large wavelength coverage to perform a reference study. We want to investigate dust attenuation characteristics as well as star formation rate (SFR) calibrations on a sample of nearby galaxies observed over 13 bands from 0.15 to 160 microns. A sample of 363 galaxies is built from the AKARI /FIS all sky survey cross-correlated with SDSS and GALEX surveys. Broad band spectral energy distributions are fitted with the CIGALE code optimized to analyze variations in dust attenuation curves and SFR measurements and based on an energetic budget between the stellar and dust emission. Our galaxy sample is primarily selected in far-IR and mostly constituted of massive, actively star forming galaxies. There is some evidence for a dust attenuation law slightly steeper than that used for starburst galaxies but we are unable to constrain the presence or not of a bump at 220 nm. We confirm that a time dependent dust attenuation is necessary to perform the best fits. Various calibrations of the dust attenuation in the UV as a function of UV-optical colours are discussed. A calibration of the current star formation rate combining UV and total IR emissions is proposed with an accurate estimation of dust heating by old stars: for the whole sample 17 % of the total dust luminosity is not related to the recent star formation
Dust attenuation in star-forming spiral galaxies affects stars and gas in different ways due to local variations in dust geometry. We present spatially resolved measurements of dust attenuation for a sample of 232 such star-forming spiral galaxies, derived from spectra acquired by the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey. The dust attenuation affecting the stellar populations of these galaxies (obtained using full spectrum stellar population fitting methods) is compared with the dust attenuation in the gas (derived from the Balmer decrement). Both of these attenuation measures increase for local regions of galaxies with higher star formation rates; the dust attenuation affecting the stellar populations increases more so than the dust attenuation in the gas, causing the ratio of the dust attenuation affecting the stellar populations to the dust attenuation in the gas to decrease for local regions of galaxies with higher star formation rate densities. No systematic difference is discernible in any of these dust attenuation quantities between the spiral arm and inter-arm regions of the galaxies. While both the dust attenuation in the gas and the dust attenuation affecting the stellar populations decrease with galactocentric radius, the ratio of the two quantities does not vary with radius. This ratio does, however, decrease systematically as the stellar mass of the galaxy increases. Analysis of the radial profiles of the two dust attenuation measures suggests that there is a disproportionately high concentration of birth clouds (incorporating gas, young stars and clumpy dust) nearer to the centres of star-forming spiral galaxies.