Comparing Ultraviolet and H alpha Star Formation Rates

Abstract

We have used a sample of 43 star-forming galaxies imaged in the far-ultraviolet (FUV) by the UIT supplemented with 33 galaxies observed by FAUST, to explore the consistency of UV and H alpha derived star formation rates (SFRs). We find, even before correction for dust, that UV and H alpha SFRs are quantitatively consistent for low-luminosity galaxies, and that higher luminosity galaxies have H alpha SFRs a factor of 1.5 higher than their UV SFRs: this reflects the influence of dust. Our results are consistent with a scenario where the UV dust extinction is a factor of less than 2 larger than the H alpha dust extinction in a given galaxy, and that there is over a 4 magnitude range of H alpha dust extinctions which correlate loosely with galaxy luminosity such that low luminosity galaxies tend to have lower extinctions than their higher luminosity counterparts.