BLAST: A FAR-INFRARED MEASUREMENT OF THE HISTORY OF STAR FORMATION

Journal Article · Sun Dec 20 00:00:00 EST 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1740· OSTI ID:21392536

Pascale, Enzo; Ade, Peter A. R.; Dye, Simon; Eales, Steve A; Griffin, Matthew; Hargrave, Peter C; Mauskopf, Philip; Moncelsi, Lorenzo ^[1]; Bock, James J ^[2]; Chapin, Edward L; Halpern, Mark; Marsden, Gaelen; Ngo, Henry ^[3]; Devlin, Mark J; Klein, Jeff ^[4]; Gundersen, Joshua O ^[5]; Hughes, David H ^[6]; Netterfield, Calvin B ^[7]; Olmi, Luca ^[8]; Patanchon, Guillaume ^[9]

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1. School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, 5 The Parade, Cardiff, CF24 3AA (United Kingdom)
2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109-8099 (United States)
3. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, 6224 Agricultural Road, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1 (Canada)
4. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, 209 South 33rd Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19104 (United States)
5. Department of Physics, University of Miami, 1320 Campo Sano Drive, Coral Gables, FL 33146 (United States)
6. Instituto Nacional de AstrofIsica Optica y Electronica (INAOE), Aptdo. Postal 51 y 72000 Puebla (Mexico)
7. Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street Toronto, ON M5S 3H4 (Canada)
8. University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, Physics Department, Box 23343, UPR station, PR 00931 (United States)
9. Universite Paris Diderot, Laboratoire APC, 10, rue Alice Domon et Leonie Duquet 75205 Paris (France)

We directly measure redshift evolution in the mean physical properties (far-infrared luminosity, temperature, and mass) of the galaxies that produce the cosmic infrared background (CIB), using measurements from the Balloon-borne Large Aperture Submillimeter Telescope (BLAST), and Spitzer which constrain the CIB emission peak. This sample is known to produce a surface brightness in the BLAST bands consistent with the full CIB, and photometric redshifts are identified for all of the objects. We find that most of the 70 mum background is generated at z approx< 1 and the 500 mum background generated at z approx> 1. A significant growth is observed in the mean luminosity from approx10{sup 9}-10{sup 12} L{sub sun}, and in the mean temperature by 10 K, from redshifts 0 < z < 3. However, there is only weak positive evolution in the comoving dust mass in these galaxies across the same redshift range. We also measure the evolution of the far-infrared luminosity density, and the star formation rate history for these objects, finding good agreement with other infrared studies up to z approx 1, exceeding the contribution attributed to optically selected galaxies.

• OSTI ID: 21392536
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 707, Issue 2; Other Information: DOI: 10.1088/0004-637X/707/2/1740; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
APERTURES
BALLOONS
BRIGHTNESS
COSMOLOGY
DUSTS
EMISSION
EXPLOSIONS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
LUMINOSITY
MASS
RED SHIFT
STARS
TELESCOPES
AIRCRAFT
EVOLUTION
OPENINGS
OPTICAL PROPERTIES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES