Ultraviolet to Near-Infrared Spectral Distributions of Star-forming and Seyfert 2 Galaxies

Abstract

Combined UV, optical and near-IR spectral distributions of a sample of 48 southern star-forming and Seyfert 2 galaxies are presented. The optical and near-IR spectra were obtained using apertures matching those of the UV observations (10" X 20") and in most cases correspond to the bulk of the gas and stellar population contribution from the whole galaxy. No such data set-taken with matched apertures and spanning such a large spectral range- exists in the literature today. The obtained spectral distributions are particularly useful as a comparison sample for spectroscopic surveys of more distant galaxies. Emission-line fluxes, continuum fluxes, and equivalent widths of absorption lines are measured from the spectra, and average values corresponding to the different activity types-blue compact dwarf, blue compact, starburst, Seyfert, and composite (starburst and Seyfert)-are presented and discussed.