A UNIFIED EMPIRICAL MODEL FOR INFRARED GALAXY COUNTS BASED ON THE OBSERVED PHYSICAL EVOLUTION OF DISTANT GALAXIES

We reproduce the mid-infrared to radio galaxy counts with a new empirical model based on our current understanding of the evolution of main-sequence (MS) and starburst (SB) galaxies. We rely on a simple spectral energy distribution (SED) library based on Herschel observations: a single SED for the M...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Astrophysical journal. Letters 2012-10, Vol.757 (2), p.1-7
Main Authors: BETHERMIN, MATTHIEU, Daddi, Emanuele, MAGDIS, GEORGIOS, Sargent, Mark T, HEZAVEH, YASHAR, Elbaz, David, Le Borgne, Damien, Mullaney, James, Pannella, Maurilio, Buat, Veronique, Charmandaris, Vassilis, Lagache, Guilaine, Scott, Douglas
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Astrophysics
ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics
Counting
DECOMPOSITION
Empirical analysis
ENERGY SPECTRA
Evolution
FLUX DENSITY
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GHZ RANGE
Infrared
Libraries
Mathematical models
Physics
RADIO GALAXIES
RED SHIFT
Sciences of the Universe
Spectral energy distribution
STARS
WAVELENGTHS
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Summary:We reproduce the mid-infrared to radio galaxy counts with a new empirical model based on our current understanding of the evolution of main-sequence (MS) and starburst (SB) galaxies. We rely on a simple spectral energy distribution (SED) library based on Herschel observations: a single SED for the MS and another one for SB, getting warmer with redshift. Our model is able to reproduce recent measurements of galaxy counts performed with Herschel, including counts per redshift slice. This agreement demonstrates the power of our 2-Star-Formation Modes (2SFM) decomposition in describing the statistical properties of infrared sources and their evolution with cosmic time. We discuss the relative contribution of MS and SB galaxies to the number counts at various wavelengths and flux densities. We also show that MS galaxies are responsible for a bump in the 1.4 GHz radio counts around 50 mu Jy. Material of the model (predictions, SED library, mock catalogs, etc.) is available online.
ISSN:2041-8205
2041-8213
DOI:10.1088/2041-8205/757/2/L23