New photometric models of galactic evolution applied to the HDF

Abstract

We summarize our modelling of galaxy photometric evolution (GRASIL code). By including the effects of dust grains and PAHs molecules in a two phases clumpy medium, where clumps are associated to star forming regions, we reproduce the observed UV to radio SEDs of galaxies with star formation rates from zero to several hundreds $M_\odot/yr$. GRASIL is a powerful tool to investigate the star formation, the initial mass function and the supernovae rate in nearby starbursts and normal galaxies, as well as to predict the evolution of luminosity functions of different types of galaxies at wavelengths covering six decades. It may be interfaced with any device providing the star formation and metallicity histories of a galaxy. As an application, we have investigated the properties of early-type galaxies in the HDF, tracking the contribution of this population to the cosmic star-formation history, which has a broad peak between z=1.5 and 4. To explain the absence of objects at z $\gsim$ 1.3, we suggest a sequence of dust-enshrouded merging-driven starbursts in the first few Gyrs of galaxies lifetime. We are at present working on a complementary sample of late type objects selected in a similar way.