SHARDS: constraints on the dust attenuation law of star-forming galaxies at z ∼ 2
Barro, Guillermo; Pérez-González, Pablo G.; Cava, Antonio; Rodighiero, Giulia; Esquej, Pilar; Ferreras, Ignacio; Mármol-Queraltó, Esther; Hernán-Caballero, Antonio; Domínguez-Sánchez, Helena; Eliche-Moral, Carmen; Espino-Briones, Néstor; Pampliega, Belén Alcalde; Tress, Mónica; Rodriguez-Muñoz, Lucía
United Kingdom, Spain, United States, Switzerland, Italy
Abstract
We make use of the Survey of High-z Absorption Red and Dead Sources, an ultradeep (<26.5AB) galaxy survey that provides optical photospectra at resolution R ∼ 50, via medium-band filters (FWHM ∼ 150 Å). This data set is combined with ancillary optical and NIR fluxes to constrain the dust attenuation law in the rest-frame NUV region of star-forming galaxies within the redshift window 1.5 < z < 3. We focus on the NUV bump strength (B) and the total-to-selective extinction ratio (RV), targeting a sample of 1753 galaxies. By comparing the data with a set of population synthesis models coupled to a parametric dust attenuation law, we constrain RV and B, as well as the colour excess, E(B - V). We find a correlation between RV and B, which can be interpreted either as a result of the grain size distribution, or a variation of the dust geometry among galaxies. According to the former, small dust grains are associated with a stronger NUV bump. The latter would lead to a range of clumpiness in the distribution of dust within the interstellar medium of star-forming galaxies. The observed wide range of NUV bump strengths can lead to a systematic in the interpretation of the UV slope β typically used to characterize the dust content. In this study, we quantify these variations, concluding that the effects are Δβ ∼ 0.4.