In order to explore local large-scale structures and velocity fields, accurate galaxy distance measures are needed. We now extend the well-tested recipe for calibrating the correlation between galaxy rotation rates and luminosities -- capable of prov
iding such distance measures -- to the all-sky, space-based imaging data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) W1 ($3.4mu$m) and W2 ($4.6mu$m) filters. We find a linewidth to absolute magnitude correlation (known as the Tully-Fisher Relation, TFR) of $mathcal{M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W1} = -20.35 - 9.56 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (0.54 magnitudes rms) and $mathcal{M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W2} = -19.76 - 9.74 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (0.56 magnitudes rms) from 310 galaxies in 13 clusters. We update the I-band TFR using a sample 9% larger than in Tully & Courtois (2012). We derive $mathcal{M}^{b,i,k}_I = -21.34 - 8.95 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (0.46 magnitudes rms). The WISE TFRs show evidence of curvature. Quadratic fits give $mathcal{M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W1} = -20.48 - 8.36 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5) + 3.60 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)^2$ (0.52 magnitudes rms) and $mathcal{M}^{b,i,k,a}_{W2} = -19.91 - 8.40 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5) + 4.32 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)^2$ (0.55 magnitudes rms). We apply an I-band -- WISE color correction to lower the scatter and derive $mathcal{M}_{C_{W1}} = -20.22 - 9.12 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ and $mathcal{M}_{C_{W2}} = -19.63 - 9.11 (log W^i_{mx} - 2.5)$ (both 0.46 magnitudes rms). Using our three independent TFRs (W1 curved, W2 curved and I-band), we calibrate the UNION2 supernova Type Ia sample distance scale and derive $H_0 = 74.4 pm 1.4$(stat) $pm 2.4$(sys) kms$^{-1}$ Mpc$^{-1}$ with 4% total error.
We exploit the accumulating, high-quality, multi-wavelength imaging data of nearby supernova (SN) hosts to explore the relationship between SN production and host galaxy evolution. The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX, Martin et al., 2005) provides u
ltraviolet (UV) imaging in two bands, complementing data in the optical and infra-red (IR). We compare host properties, derived from spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, with nearby, well-observed SN Ia light curve properties. We also explore where the hosts of different types of SNe fall relative to the red and blue sequences on the galaxy UV-optical color-magnitude diagram (CMD, Wyder et al., 2007). We conclude that further exploration and larger samples will provide useful results for constraining the progenitors of SNe.
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 u
ltraviolet (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 color of galaxies is a fundamental property, easily measured, that constrains models of galaxies and their evolution. Dust attenuation and star formation history (SFH) are the dominant factors affecting the color of galaxies. Here we explore the
empirical relation between SFH, attenuation, and color for a wide range of galaxies, including early types. These galaxies have been observed by GALEX, SDSS, and Spitzer, allowing the construction of measures of dust attenuation from the ratio of infrared (IR) to ultraviolet (UV) flux and measures of SFH from the strength of the 4000A break. The empirical relation between these three quantities is compared to models that separately predict the effects of dust and SFH on color. This comparison demonstrates the quantitative consistency of these simple models with the data and hints at the power of multiwavelength data for constraining these models. The UV color is a strong constraint; we find that a Milky Way extinction curve is disfavored, and that the UV emission of galaxies with large 4000A break strengths is likely to arise from evolved populations. We perform fits to the relation between SFH, attenuation, and color. This relation links the production of starlight and its absorption by dust to the subsequent reemission of the absorbed light in the IR. Galaxy models that self-consistently treat dust absorption and emission as well as stellar populations will need to reproduce these fitted relations in the low-redshift universe.
