Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
1999-12-01
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
accepted by the ApJ, 18 pages, color figures, b/w version at http://mips.as.arizona.edu/~kgordon/papers/fr_method.html
Scientific paper
10.1086/308668
The presence of dust in starburst galaxies complicates the study of their stellar populations as the dust's effects are similar to those associated with changes in the galaxies' stellar age and metallicity. This degeneracy can be overcome for starburst galaxies if UV/optical/near-infrared observations are combined with far-infrared observations. We present the calibration of the flux ratio method for calculating the dust attenuation at a particular wavelength, Att(\lambda), based on the measurement of F(IR)/F(\lambda) flux ratio. Our calibration is based on spectral energy distributions (SEDs) from the PEGASE stellar evolutionary synthesis model and the effects of dust (absorption and scattering) as calculated from our Monte Carlo radiative transfer model. We tested the attenuations predicted from this method for the Balmer emission lines of a sample starburst galaxies against those calculated using radio observations and found good agreement. The UV attenuation curves for a handful of starburst galaxies were calculated using the flux ratio method, and they compare favorably with past work. The relationship between Att(\lambda) and F(IR)/F(\lambda) is almost completely independent of the assumed dust properties (grain type, distribution, and clumpiness). For the UV, the relationship is also independent of the assumed stellar properties (age, metallicity, etc) accept for the case of very old burst populations. However at longer wavelengths, the relationship is dependent on the assumed stellar properties.
Clayton Geoffrey C.
Gordon Karl Douglas
Misselt Karl A.
Witt Adolf N.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Flux Ratio Method for Determining the Dust Attenuation of Starburst Galaxies does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Flux Ratio Method for Determining the Dust Attenuation of Starburst Galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Flux Ratio Method for Determining the Dust Attenuation of Starburst Galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-261810