Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2011-11-28
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
To appear in IAU Symp. 284, The Spectral Energy Distribution of Galaxies, Preston (UK), September 2011, eds. R. J. Tuffs and C
Scientific paper
We highlight and discuss the importance of accounting for nebular emission in the SEDs of high redshift galaxies, as lines and continuum emission can contribute significantly or subtly to broad-band photometry. Physical parameters such as the galaxy age, mass, star-formation rate, dust attenuation and others inferred from SED fits can be affected to different extent by the treatment of nebular emission. We analyse a large sample of Lyman break galaxies from z~3-6, and show some main results illustrating e.g. the importance of nebular emission for determinations of the mass-SFR relation, attenuation and age. We suggest that a fairly large scatter in such relations could be intrinsic. We find that the majority of objects (~60-70%) is better fit with SEDs accounting for nebular emission; the remaining galaxies are found to show relatively weak or no emission lines. Our modeling, and supporting empirical evidence, suggests the existence of two categories of galaxies, "starbursts" and "post-starbursts" (lower SFR and older galaxies) among the LBG population, and relatively short star-formation timescales.
Barros Stephane de
Schaerer Daniel
No associations
LandOfFree
The importance of nebular emission for SED modeling of distant star-forming 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 importance of nebular emission for SED modeling of distant star-forming galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The importance of nebular emission for SED modeling of distant star-forming galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-67094