On the Simultaneous Modelling of Dust and Stellar Populations for Interpretation of Galaxy Properties

Abstract

The physical properties of galaxies are encoded within their spectral energy distribution and require comparison with models to be extracted. These models must contain a synthetic stellar population and, where infrared data is to be used, also consider prescriptions for energy reprocessing and re-emission by dust. While many such models have been constructed, there are few analyses of the impact of stellar population model choice on derived dust parameters, or vice versa. Here we apply a simple framework to compare the impact of these choices, combining three commonly-used stellar population synthesis models and three dust emission models. We compare fits to the ultraviolet to far-infrared spectral energy distributions of a validation sample of infrared-luminous galaxies. We find that including different physics, such as binary stellar evolution, in the stellar synthesis model can introduce biases and uncertainties in the derived parameters of the dust and stellar emission models, largely due to differences in the far-ultraviolet emission available for reprocessing. This may help to reconcile the discrepancy between the cosmic star formation rate and stellar mass density histories. Notably the inclusion of a dusty stellar birth cloud component in the dust emission model provides more flexibility in accommodating the stellar population model, as its reemission is highly sensitive to the ultraviolet radiation field spectrum and density. Binary populations favour a longer birth cloud dissipation timescale than is found when assuming only single star population synthesis.

16 Pages, 9 Figures + appendix, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (21)

• Cosmic Star Formation History
• Theory of Star Formation
• Binary interaction dominates the evolution of massive stars
• Infrared Emission from Interstellar Dust. IV. The Silicate-Graphite-PAH Model in the Post-Spitzer Era
• The Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) -- Overview
• A simple model to interpret the ultraviolet, optical and infrared emission from galaxies
• Dust Masses, PAH Abundances, and Starlight Intensities in the SINGS Galaxy Sample
• Binary Population and Spectral Synthesis Version 2.1: construction, observational verification and new results
• The effect of massive binaries on stellar populations and supernova progenitors
• H-alpha Observations of a Large Sample of Galaxies at z~2: Implications for Star Formation in High Redshift Galaxies
• The lifecycle of molecular clouds in nearby star-forming disc galaxies
• Dust in starburst nuclei and ULIRGs: SED models for observers
• On the consistent treatment of the quasi-hydrostatic layers in hot star atmospheres
• Studying the YMC population of M83: how long clusters remain embedded, their interaction with the ISM and implications for GC formation theories
• DustPedia - A Definitive Study of Cosmic Dust in the Local Universe
• The PAH emission characteristics of the reflection nebula NGC2023
• The Physical Properties and Effective Temperature Scale of O-type Stars as a Function of Metallicity. III. More Results from the Magellanic Clouds
• Investigating H$\alpha$, UV, and IR star-formation rate diagnostics for a large sample of z ~ 2 galaxies
• Recalibrating the Cosmic Star Formation History
• Inferring gas-phase metallicity gradients of galaxies at the seeing limit: A forward modelling approach
• The post-Herschel view of intrinsic AGN emission: constructing templates for galaxy and AGN emission at IR wavelengths

Cited by in corpus (4)

• On the impact of spectral template uncertainties in synthetic stellar populations
• First Light And Reionisation Epoch Simulations (FLARES) XIII: The Lyman-continuum emission of high-redshift galaxies
• Measuring Dust Attenuation Curves of SINGS/KINGFISH Galaxies Using Swift/UVOT Photometry
• Measuring 60-pc-scale Star Formation Rate of the Nearby Seyfert Galaxy NGC 1068 with ALMA, HST, VLT/MUSE, and VLA