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Persistent URL http://purl.org/net/epubs/work/10918911
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Record Id 10918911
Title The local galaxy 8 ?m luminosity function
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Abstract A Spitzer Space Telescope survey in the NOAO Deep Wide Field in Bootes provides a complete, 8 ?m-selected sample of galaxies to a limiting (Vega) magnitude of 13.5. In the 6.88 deg field sampled, 79% of the 4867 galaxies have spectroscopic redshifts, allowing an accurate determination of the local (z < 0.3) galaxy luminosity function. Stellar and dust emission can be separated on the basis of observed galaxy colors. Dust emission (mostly PAH) accounts for 80% of the 8 ?m luminosity, stellar photospheres account for 19%, and AGN emission accounts for roughly 1%. A subsample of the 8 ?m-selected galaxies have blue, early-type colors, but even most of these have significant PAH emission. The luminosity functions for the total 8 ?m luminosity and for the dust emission alone are both well fit by Schechter functions. For the 8 ?m luminosity function, the characteristic luminosity is ?L *;(8.0 ?m) = 1.8 × 10 L , while for the dust emission alone it is 1.6 × 10 L . The average 8 ?m luminosity density at z < 0.3 is 3.1 × 10 L Mpc , and the average luminosity density from dust alone is 2.5 × 10 L Mpc . This luminosity arises predominantly from galaxies with 8 ?m luminosities (?L ) between 2 × 10 and 2 × 10 L , i.e., normal galaxies, not luminous or ultraluminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs/ULIRGs). © 2007. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
Organisation SSTD , STFC , SSTD-SP
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Language English (EN)
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Journal Article Astrophys J Lett 664 (2007): 840-849. doi:10.1086/519241 2007