GAMA/H-ATLAS : common star formation rate indicators and their dependence on galaxy physical parameters.

Authors

L. Wang, Durham University
P. Norberg, Durham University
M. L. P. Gunawardhana, Durham University
S. Heinis, University of Maryland at College Park
I. K. Baldry, Liverpool John Moores University
J. Bland-Hawthorn, University of Sydney
N. Bourne, University of Edinburgh
S. Brough, Australian Astronomical Observatory
M. J. I. Brown, Monash University
M. E. Cluver, The University of Western Cape
A. Cooray, University of California, Irvine
E. da Cunha, Swinburne University of Technology - Australia
S. P. Driver, University of Western Australia
L. Dunne, Cardiff University
S. Dye, University of Nottingham
S. Eales, Cardiff University
M. W. Grootes, Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik
Benne W. Holwerda, University of Louisville
A. M. Hopkins, Australian Astronomical Observatory
E. Ibar, Universidad de Valparaiso
R. Ivison, University of Edinburgh
C. Lacey, Durham University
M. A. Lara-Lopez, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
J. Loveday, University of Sussex at Brighton
S. J. Maddox, Cardiff University
M. J. Michalowski, University of Edinburgh
I. Oteo, University of Edinburgh
M. S. Owers, Macquarie University
C. C. Popescu, University of Central Lancashire
D. J. B. Smith, University of Hertfordshire
E. N. Taylor, The University of Melbourne
R. J. Tuffs, Max Planck Institut fuer Kernphysik
P. van der Werf, Leiden University

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

9-11-2016

Department

Physics and Astronomy

Abstract

We compare common star formation rate (SFR) indicators in the local Universe in the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) equatorial fields (∼160 deg2), using ultraviolet (UV) photometry from GALEX, far-infrared and sub-millimetre (sub-mm) photometry from Herschel Astrophysical Terahertz Large Area Survey, and Hα spectroscopy from the GAMA survey. With a high-quality sample of 745 galaxies (median redshift z = 0.08), we consider three SFR tracers: UV luminosity corrected for dust attenuation using the UV spectral slope β (SFRUV, corr), Hα line luminosity corrected for dust using the Balmer decrement (BD) (SFRH α, corr), and the combination of UV and infrared (IR) emission (SFRUV + IR). We demonstrate that SFRUV, corr can be reconciled with the other two tracers after applying attenuation corrections by calibrating Infrared excess (IRX; i.e. the IR to UV luminosity ratio) and attenuation in the Hα (derived from BD) against β. However, β, on its own, is very unlikely to be a reliable attenuation indicator. We find that attenuation correction factors depend on parameters such as stellar mass (M∗), z and dust temperature (Tdust), but not on Hα equivalent width or Sersic index. Due to the large scatter in the IRX versus β correlation, when compared to SFRUV + IR, the β-corrected SFRUV, corr exhibits systematic deviations as a function of IRX, BD and Tdust.

Comments

This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Copyright: 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.

https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/stw1450

Original Publication Information

Wang, L., et al. "GAMA/H-ATLAS: Common Star-Formation Rate Indicators and Their Dependence on Galaxy Physical Parameters." 2016. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 461(2): 1898-1916.

ThinkIR Citation

Wang, L.; Norberg, P.; Gunawardhana, M. L. P.; Heinis, S.; Baldry, I. K.; Bland-Hawthorn, J.; Bourne, N.; Brough, S.; Brown, M. J. I.; Cluver, M. E.; Cooray, A.; da Cunha, E.; Driver, S. P.; Dunne, L.; Dye, S.; Eales, S.; Grootes, M. W.; Holwerda, Benne W.; Hopkins, A. M.; Ibar, E.; Ivison, R.; Lacey, C.; Lara-Lopez, M. A.; Loveday, J.; Maddox, S. J.; Michalowski, M. J.; Oteo, I.; Owers, M. S.; Popescu, C. C.; Smith, D. J. B.; Taylor, E. N.; Tuffs, R. J.; and van der Werf, P., "GAMA/H-ATLAS : common star formation rate indicators and their dependence on galaxy physical parameters." (2016). Faculty and Staff Scholarship. 152.
https://ir.library.louisville.edu/faculty/152

DOI

10.1093/mnras/stw1450