The dust opacity of star-forming galaxies

Calzetti, D

D. Calzetti, The dust opacity of star-forming galaxies, PUB AST S P, 113(790), 2001, pp. 1449-1485

460

INGLESE

Editorial Material

Space Sciences

PUBLICATIONS OF THE ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY OF THE PACIFIC

0004-6280 → ACNP

113

790

2001

1449 - 1485

ISI

0004-6280(200112)113:790<1449:TDOOSG>2.0.ZU;2-F

The presence of dust in galaxies removes one-half or more of the stellar en ergy from the UV-optical budget of the universe and has a profound impact o n our understanding of how galaxies evolve. Measures of opacity in local ga laxies are reviewed together with widely used theoretical and empirical met hods for quantifying its effects. Existing evidence shows that the dust con tent of nearby galaxies depends not only on their morphology but also on th eir luminosity and activity level. A digression is devoted to starbursts in view of their potential relevance for measures of opacity in distant galax ies. Scarcity of coherent multiwavelength data sets hampers our ability to derive reliable obscuration estimates in intermediate- and high-redshift ga laxies. This, in turn, limits the reliability of inferred physical quantiti es, such as star formation rates, stellar population ages, galaxy luminosit y functions, and others.