Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting: Application to Lyman Alpha-Emitting Galaxies
Abstract
Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) fitting is a well-developed astrophysical tool that has recently been applied to high-redshift Lyman Alpha-emitting galaxies. If rest-frame ultraviolet through near-infrared photometry is available, it allows the simultaneous determination of the star formation history and dust extinction of a galaxy. Lyman Alpha-emitter SED fitting results from the literature find star formation rates ~3 Msun/yr, stellar masses ~109 Msun for the general population but ~1010 Msun for the subset detected by IRAC, and very low dust extinction, AV < 0.3, although a couple of outlying analyses prefer significantly more dust and higher intrinsic star formation rates. A checklist of 14 critical choices that must be made when performing SED fitting is discussed.
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