Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T19:54:39.495Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Star formation rate indicators

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 September 2013

By
Daniela Calzetti
Edited by
Jesús Falcón-Barroso  and
Johan H. Knapen
Daniela Calzetti
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts
Jesús Falcón-Barroso
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife
Johan H. Knapen
Affiliation:
Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Tenerife
Get access

Summary

Abstract

What else can be said about star formation rate indicators that has not been said already many times over? The ‘coming of age” of large ground-based surveys and the unprecedented sensitivity, angular resolution and/or field-of-view of infrared and ultraviolet space missions have provided extensive, homogeneous data on both nearby and distant galaxies, which have been used to further our understanding of the strengths and pitfalls of many common star formation rate indicators. The synergy between these surveys has also enabled the calibration of indicators for use on scales that are comparable to those of star-forming regions, thus much smaller than an entire galaxy. These are being used to investigate star formation processes at the sub-galactic scale. I review progress in the field over the past decade or so.

Introductory remarks

My goal for this chapter, based on a series of lectures at the XXIII Canary Islands Winter School of Astrophysics, is to present current understanding and calibrations of star formation rate (SFR) indicators, both on global, galaxy-wide scales, and on local, sub-galactic scales. SFRs are, together with masses, the most important parameters that define galaxies and their evolution across cosmic times. Although SFR calibrations have existed, with various levels of accuracy, for many years and sometimes decades, the past eight to ten years have brought forth major progress, through cohesive, multi-wavelength surveys of nearby and distant galaxies.

Type
Chapter
Information
Secular Evolution of Galaxies , pp. 419 - 458
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2013

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alonso-Herrero, A., Rieke, G. H., Rieke, M. J.et al. (2006), ApJ, 650, 835
Aniano, G., Draine, B. T., Calzetti, D.et al. (2012), ApJ, submitted
Bastian, N., Covey, K. R., Meyer, M. R. (2010), ARA&A, 48, 339
Bell, E. F. (2003), ApJ, 586, 794
Bendo, G. J., Draine, B. T., Engelbracht, C. W.et al. (2008), MNRAS, 389, 629
Bianchi, L., Clayton, G. C., Bohlin, R. C., Hutchings, J. B., Massey, P. (1996), ApJ, 471, 203
Boissier, S., Gil de Paz, A., Boselli, A.et al. (2007), ApJS, 173, 524
Boissier, S., Prantzos, N. (2009), A&A, 503, 137
Boquien, M., Buat, V., Boselli, A.et al. (2012), A&A, 539, 145
Boquien, M., Calzetti, D., Combes, F.et al. (2011), AJ, 142, 111
Boquien, M., Calzetti, D., Kennicutt, R. C.et al. (2009), ApJ, 606, 553
Boquien, M., Calzetti, D., Kramer, C.et al. (2010), A&A, 518, 70
Boselli, A., Lequeux, J., Gavazzi, G. (2004), A&A, 428, 409
Bouwens, R. J., Illingworth, G. D., Franx, M.et al. (2009), ApJ, 705, 936
Bouwens, R. J., Illingworth, G. D., Oesch, P. A.et al. (2010), ApJL, 709, 133
Brown, R. L., Lockman, F. J., Knapp, G. R. (1978), ARA&A, 16, 445
Buat, V., Boselli, A., Gavazzi, G., Bonfanti, C. (2002), A&A, 383, 801
Buat, V., Iglesias-Páramo, J., Seiber, M.et al. (2005), ApJL, 619, 51
Calzetti, D. (2001), PASP, 113, 1449
Calzetti, D., Armus, L., Bohlin, R. C.et al. (2000), ApJ, 533, 682
Calzetti, D., Harris, J., Gallagher, J. S.et al. (2004), AJ, 127, 1405
Calzetti, D., Kennicutt, R. C., Bianchi, L.et al. (2005), ApJ, 633, 871
Calzetti, D., Kennicutt, R. C., Engelbracht, C. W.et al. (2007), ApJ, 666, 870
Calzetti, D., Kinney, A. L., Storchi-Bergmann, T. (1994), ApJ, 429, 582
Calzetti, D., Kinney, A. L., Storchi-Bergmann, T. (1996), ApJ, 458, 132
Calzetti, D., Liu, G., Koda, J. (2012), ApJ, in press (arxiv:1204.5659)
Calzetti, D., Wu, S.-Y., Hong, S.et al. (2010), ApJ, 714, 1256
Cardelli, J. A., Clayton, G. C., Mathis, J. S. (1989), ApJ, 345, 245
Cerviño, M., Valls-Gabaud, D., Luridiana, V., Mass-Hesse, J. M. (2002), A&A, 381, 51
Chabrier, G. 2003, PASP, 115, 763
Chandar, R., Leitherer, C., Tremonti, A. C.et al. (2005), ApJ, 628, 210
Chandar, R., Whitmore, B. C, Kim, H.et al. (2010), ApJ, 719, 966
Chomiuk, L., Povich, M. S. (2011), AJ, 142, 197
Condon, J. J. (1992), ARA&A, 30, 575
Crocker, A. F., Calzetti, D., Thilker, D. A.et al. (2012), ApJ, submitted
Dale, D. A., Cohen, S. A., Johnson, L. C.et al. (2009), ApJ, 703, 517
Dale, D. A., Helou, G. (2002), ApJ, 576, 159
Dole, H., Lagache, G., Puget, J.-L.et al. (2006), A&A 451, 417
Donas, J., Deharveng, J.-M. (1984), A&A, 140, 325
Dopita, M. A., Groves, B. A., Sutherland, R. S., Kewley, L. J. (2003), ApJ, 583, 727
Draine, B. T. (2003), ARA&A, 41, 241
Draine, B. T. (2003b), ApJ, 598, 1017
Draine, B. T. (2009), in Cosmic Dust – Near and Far, T., Henning, E., Grün, & J., Steinacker, eds., ASP Conf. Ser., 41, 241
Draine, B. T., Dale, D. A., Bendo, G.et al. (2007), ApJ, 633, 866
Draine, B. T., Li, A. (2007), ApJ, 657, 810
Elbaz, D., Dickinson, M., Hwang, H. S.et al. (2011), A&A, 533, 119
Engelbracht, C. W., Gordon, K. D., Rieke, G. H.et al. (2005), ApJ, 628, 29
Engelbracht, C. W., Rieke, G. H., Gordon, K. D.et al. (2008), ApJ, 685, 678
Evans, N. J., Dunham, M. M., Jorgensen, J. K.et al. (2009), ApJS, 181, 321
Fall, S. M., Chandar, R., Whitmore, B. C. (2005), ApJL, 631, 133
Ferguson, A. M. N., Wyse, R. F. G., Gallagher, J. S., Hunter, D. A. (1996), AJ, 111, 2265
Fitzpatrick, E. L. (1999), PASP, 111, 63
Galliano, F., Dwek, E., Chanial, P. (2008), ApJ, 672, 214
Giavalisco, M., Dickinson, M., Ferguson, H. C.et al. (2004), ApJL, 600, 103
Goddard, Q. E., Kennicutt, R. C., Ryan-Weber, E. V. (2010), MNRAS, 405, 2791
Goldader, J. D., Meurer, G. R., Heckman, T. M.et al. (2002), ApJ, 568, 651
Gordon, K. D., Calzetti, D., Witt, A. N. (1997), ApJ, 487, 625
Gordon, K. D., Cartledge, S., Clayton, G. C. (2009), ApJ, 705, 1320
Gordon, K. D., Clayton, G. C., Misselt, K. A., Landolt, A. U., Wolff, M. J. (2003), ApJ, 594, 279
Gordon, K. D., Engelbracht, C. W., Rieke, G. H.et al (2008), ApJ, 682, 336
Gordon, K. D., Pérez-González, P. G., Misselt, K. A.et al. (2004), ApJS, 154, 215
Gordon, M. A., Sorochenko, R. L. (2009), Radio Recombination Lines, Their Physics and Astronomical Applications, Astrophysics and Space Science Library 282, New York: Springer Science+Business Media
Gutermuth, R. A., Pipher, J. L., Megeath, S. T.et al. (2011), ApJ, 739, 84
Hao, C.-N., Kennicutt, R. C., Johnson, B. D.et al. (2011), ApJ, 741, 124
Heckman, T. M., Borthakur, S., Overzier, R.et al. (2011), ApJ, 730, 5
Heiderman, A., Evans, N., Allen, L. E., Huard, T., Heyer, M. (2010), ApJ, 723, 1019
Helou, G. (1986), ApJL, 311, 33
Holwerda, B. W., González, R. A., Allen, R. J., van der Kruit, P. C. (2005), AJ, 129, 1396
Hong, S., Calzetti, D., Dopita, M. A.et al. (2011), ApJ, 731, 45
Hoopes, C. G., Heckman, T. M., Strickland, D. K.et al. (2005), ApJL, 619, 99
Hopkins, A. M., Connolly, A. J., Haarsma, D. B., Cram, L. E. (2001), AJ, 122, 288
Hunter, D. A., Elmegreen, B. G., Ludka, B. C. (2010), AJ, 139, 447
Kauffmann, G., Heckman, T. M., White, S. D. M.et al. (2003), MNRAS, 341, 33
Kelson, D. D., Holden, B. P. (2010), ApJ, 713, 28
Kennicutt, R. C. (1983), ApJ, 272, 54
Kennicutt, R. C. (1998), ARA&A, 36, 189
Kennicutt, R. C., Calzetti, D., Walter, F.et al. (2007), ApJ, 671, 333
Kennicutt, R. C.Evans, N. J. (2012), ARA&A, in press (arxiv:1204.3552)
Kennicutt, R. C., Hao, C., Calzetti, D.et al. (2009), ApJ, 703, 1672
Kepley, A. A., Chomiuk, L., Johnson, K. E.et al. (2011), ApJL, 739, 24
Kewley, L. J., Geller, M. J., Jansen, R. A. (2004), AJ, 127, 2002
Kewley, L. J., Geller, M. J., Jansen, R. A., Dopita, M. A. (2002), AJ, 124, 3135
Koda, J., Yagi, M., Boissier, S.et al. (2012), ApJ, 749, 20
Kong, X., Charlot, S., Brinchmann, J., Fall, S. M. (2004), MNRAS, 349, 769
Kroupa, P. (2001), MNRAS, 322, 231
Lamers, H. J. G. L. M., Baumgardt, H., Gieles, M. (2010), MNRAS, 409, 305
Lamers, H. J. G. L. M., Gieles, M., Portegies, Z. S. F. (2005), A&A, 429, 173
Law, K.-H., Gordon, K. D., Misselt, K. A. (2011), ApJ, 738, 124
Lawton, B., Gordon, K. D., Babler, B.et al. (2010), ApJ, 716, 453
Lee, J. C., Gil de Paz, A., Kennicutt, R. C.et al. (2011), ApJS, 192, 6
Lee, J. C., Gil de Paz, A., Tremonti, C.et al. (2009), ApJ, 706, 599
Lee, S.-K., Ferguson, H. C., Somerville, R. S., Wiklind, T., Giavalisco, M. (2010), ApJ, 725, 1644
Le Floc'h, E., Papovich, C., Dole, H.et al. (2005), ApJ, 632, 169
Leitherer, C., Schaerer, D., Goldader, J. D.et al. (1999), ApJS, 123, 3
Leroy, A. K., Bigiel, F., de Block, W. J. G.et al. (2012), AJ, in press (arxiv:1202.2873)
Li, Y., Calzetti, D., Kennicutt, R. C.et al. (2010), ApJ, 725, 677
Li, Y., Crocker, A. F., Calzetti, D.et al. (2012), in preparation
Liu, G., Koda, J., Calzetti, D., Fukuhara, M., Momose, R. (2011), ApJ, 735, 63
Madden, S. C. (2000), in Massive Stellar Clusters, A, Lançon & C., Boily, eds., ASP Conf. Ser., 211, 297
Madden, S. C., Galliano, F., Jones, A. P., Sauvage, M. (2006), A&A, 446, 877
Magnelli, B., Elbaz, D., Chary, R. R.et al. (2009), A&A, 496, 57
Marble, A. R., Engelbracht, C. W., van Zee, L.et al. (2010), ApJ, 715, 506
Mathis, J. S. (1972), ApJ, 176, 651
Mathis, J. S. (1983), ApJ, 267, 119
Meurer, G. R. (1995), Nature, 375, 742
Meurer, G. R., Heckman, T. M., Calzetti, D. (1999), ApJ, 521, 64
Mineo, S., Gilfanov, M., Sunyaev, R. (2012), MNRAS, 419, 2095
Moustakas, J., Kennicutt, R. C., Tremonti, C. A. (2006), ApJ, 642, 775
Munoz-Mateos, J. C., Gil de Paz, A., Boissier, S.et al. (2009), ApJ, 701, 1965
Murphy, E. J., Chary, R.-R., Dickinson, M.et al. (2011b), ApJ, 732, 126
Murphy, E. J., Condon, J. J., Schinnerer, E.et al. (2011), ApJ, 737, 67
Natta, A., Panagia, N. (1984), ApJ, 287, 228
Oey, M. S., Meurer, G. R., Yelda, S.et al. (2007), ApJ, 661, 801
Osterbrock, D. E., Ferland, G. J. (2006), Astrophysics of Gaseous Nebulae and Active Galactic Nuclei, 2nd edition, Sausalito: University Science Books
Peeters, E., Spoon, H. W. W., Tielens, A. G. G. M. (2004), ApJ, 613, 986
Pellegrini, E. W., Oey, M. S., Winkler, P. F., Points, S. D., Smith, R. C. (2012), ApJ, in press (arxiv:1202.3334)
Pellerin, A., Meyer, M., Harris, J., Calzetti, D. (2007), ApJL, 658, 87
Perez-Gonzalez, P. G., Kennicutt, R. C., Gordon, K. D.et al. (2006), ApJ, 648, 987
Persic, M., Rephaeli, Y. (2007), A&A, 463, 481
Pflamm-Altenburg, J., Weidner, C., Kroupa, P. (2009), MNRAS, 395, 394
Popescu, C. C., Tuffs, R. C., Madore, B. F. et al., 2005, ApJL, 619, 75
Ranalli, P., Comastri, A., Setti, G. (2003), A&A, 399, 39
Reddy, N. A., Dickinson, M., Elbaz, D.et al. (2012), ApJ, 744, 154
Reddy, N. A., Erb, D. K., Pettini, M., Steidel, C. C., Shapley, A. E. (2010), ApJ, 712, 1070
Relano, M., Kennicutt, R. C., Eldridge, J. J., Lee, J. C., Verley, S. (2012), MNRAS, in press (arxiv:1204.4502)
Relano, M., Lisenfeld, U., Perez-Gonzalez, P. G., Vilchez, J. M., Battaner, E. (2007), ApJL, 667, 141
Rieke, G. H., Alonso-Herrero, A., Weiner, B. J.et al. (2009), ApJ, 692, 556
Rosa-Gonzâlez, D., Burgarella, D., Nandra, K.et al. (2007), MNRAS, 379, 357
Rybicki, G. B., Lightman, A. P. (2004), Radiative Processes in Astrophysics, Second edition, Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, Verlag
Salim, S., Rich, M. R., Charlot, S.et al. (2007), ApJS, 173, 267
Salpeter, E. E. (1955), ApJ, 121, 161
Schmitt, H. R., Calzetti, D., Armus, L.et al. (2006), ApJ, 643, 173
Seibert, M., Martin, D. C., Heckman, T. M.et al. (2005), ApJL, 619, 23
Smith, J. D. T., Draine, B. T., Dale, D. A.et al. (2007), ApJ, 656, 770
Sullivan, M., Mobasher, B., Chan, B.et al. (2001), ApJ, 558, 72
Thilker, D. A., Walterbos, R. A. M., Braun, R., Hoopes, C. G. (2002), ApJ, 124, 3118
Tremonti, C. A., Calzetti, D., Leitherer, C., Heckman, T. M. (2001), ApJ, 555, 322
Tremonti, C. A., Heckman, T. M., Kauffmann, G.et al. (2004), ApJ, 613, 898
Treyer, M., Schiminovich, D., Johnson, B. D.et al. (2010), ApJ, 719, 1191
Verley, S., Corbelli, E., Giovanardi, C., Hunt, L. K. (2009), A&A, 493, 453
Verley, S., Relano, M., Kramer, C.et al. (2010), A&A, 518, 68
Walter, F., Decarli, R., Carilli, C.et al. (2012), ApJ, in press (arxiv:1204.3426)
Wang, B., Heckman, T. M. (1996), ApJ, 457, 645
Weidner, C., Kroupa, P., Bonnell, I. A. D. (2010), MNRAS, 401, 275
Weisz, D. R., Johnson, B. D., Johson, L. C.et al. (2012), ApJ, 744, 44
White, R. E., Keel, W. C., Conselice, C. J. (2000), ApJ, 542, 761
Wilkins, S. M., Bunker, A. J., Stanway, E., Lorenzoni, S., Caruana, J. (2011), MNRAS, 417, 717
Wilkins, S. M., Hopkins, A. M., Trentham, N., Tojeiro, R. (2008), MNRAS, 391, 363
Witt, A. N., Gold, B., Barnes, F. S.et al. (2010), ApJ, 724, 1551
Witt, A. N., Thronson, H. A., Capuano, J. M. (1992), ApJ, 393, 611
Wu, H., Cao, C., Hao, C.-N., et al. (2005), ApJL, 632, 79
Wuyts, S., Förster-Schreiber, N., Lutz, D.et al. (2011), ApJ, 738, 106
Yun, M. S. (2008), Ap&SS, 313, 253
Yun, M. S., Reddy, N. A., Condon, J. J. (2001), ApJ, 554, 803
Zhu, Y., Wu, H., Cao, C., Li, H.-N. (2008), ApJ, 686, 155

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×