Statistics – Methodology
Scientific paper
May 2009
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21430703s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #214, #307.03; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.730
Statistics
Methodology
Scientific paper
We use a sample of galaxies at z 4 (B-band dropouts) from the GOODS fields to discuss the methodology behind the measure the UV luminosity function at high redshift. Specifically, we study how the unknown distribution functions of surface brightness and UV colors combine with selection effects and incompleteness in giving rise to degeneracy and covariance that bias the measure of the luminosity function, especially of the faint-end slope. We adopt a maximum likelihood formalism to simultaneously derive the distribution functions of the intrinsic physical properties (UV luminosity, color, and size), and argue that it is not possible to accurately measure the luminosity function alone without also measuring the other two distribution functions. After carefully taking into account the photometric uncertainties and the incompleteness of our sample using accurate simulations, we show that existing measures have always made assumptions, more or less justified, about the distribution functions of UV slopes and surface brightness, and we conclude by discussing the robustness of the measures.
Giavalisco Mauro
Salimbeni Sara
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