Variation of the Nebular Dust Attenuation Curve with the Properties of Local Star-forming Galaxies

Abstract

We use a sample of $78,340$ star-forming galaxies at $z\simeq 0.04-0.1$ from the SDSS DR8 survey to calculate the average nebular dust attenuation curve and its variation with the physical properties of galaxies. Using the first four low-order Balmer emission lines (H$\alpha$, H$\beta$, H$\gamma$, H$\delta$) detected in the composite spectrum of all galaxies in the sample, we derive a nebular attenuation curve in the range of $0.41\mu$m to $0.66\mu$m that has a similar shape and normalization to that of the Galactic extinction curve (Milky Way curve), the SMC curve and the nebular attenuation curve derived recently for typical star-forming galaxies at $z\sim 2$. We divide the galaxies into bins of stellar mass, gas-phase metallicity, and specific star-formation rate, and derive the nebular attenuation curve in each of these bins. This analysis indicates that there is very little variation in the shape of the nebular dust attenuation curve with the properties used to bin the galaxies, and suggests a near universal shape of the nebular dust attenuation curve at least among the galaxies and the range of properties considered in our sample.

8 pages, 6 figures, This is a pre-copyedited, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society following peer review. The version of record of this article is available online at: https://academic.oup.com/mnras/article/506/3/3588/6313297

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• Exploring the Correlation between $\mathrm{H}\alpha$-to-UV Ratio and Burstiness for Typical Star-forming Galaxies at $z\sim 2$
• Physical properties of strong 1 < z < 3 Balmer and Paschen lines emitters observed with JWST
• The need for multicomponent dust attenuation in modeling nebular emission: Constraints from SDSS-IV MaNGA
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• Nebular Dust Attenuation with the Balmer and Paschen Lines based on the MaNGA Survey