A Multiwavelength Approach to the Star Formation Rate Estimation in Galaxies at Intermediate Redshifts

Abstract

We use a sample of seven starburst galaxies at intermediate redshifts (z~0.4 and 0.8) with observations ranging from the observed ultraviolet to 1.4 GHz, to compare the star formation rate (SFR) estimators that are used in the different wavelength regimes. We find that extinction-corrected Hα underestimates the SFR, and the degree of this underestimation increases with the infrared luminosity of the galaxies. Galaxies with very different levels of dust extinction as measured with SFR_IR/SFR(Hα, uncorrected for extinction) present a similar attenuation A[Hα], as if the Balmer lines probed a different region of the galaxy than the one responsible for the bulk of the IR luminosity for large SFRs. In addition, SFR estimates derived from [O II] λ3727 match very well those inferred from Hα after applying the metallicity correction derived from local galaxies. SFRs estimated from the UV luminosities show a dichotomic behavior, similar to that previously reported by other authors in galaxies at z<~0.4. Here we extend this result up to z~0.8. Finally, one of the studied objects is a luminous compact galaxy (LCG) that may be suffering similar dust-enshrouded star formation episodes. These results highlight the relevance of quantifying the actual L_IR of LCGs, as well as that of a much larger and generic sample of luminous infrared galaxies, which will be possible after the launch of SIRTF.

Based on data obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

Based in part on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS 5-26555.

Based in part on observations with the Infrared Space Observatory (ISO), an ESA project with instruments funded by ESA Member States (especially the PI countries: France, Germany, Netherlands, and United Kingdom) with the participation of ISAS and NASA.