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N. Cardiel, D. Elbaz, R.P. Schiavon, C.N.A. Willmer, D.C. Koo (UCSC)
The recent detection of a strong cosmic infrared background peaking at 140 micra implies that distant galaxies are strongly affected by dust extinction. The determination of the star formation rate (SFR) history of the universe therefore requires the combination of multi-wavelength indicators of star formation.
We will present the analysis of a sample of distant (z=0.4--0.9) dusty starbursts selected by their ISOCAM-15 micra mid-infrared and VLA-20 cm radio luminosities, for which we have obtained high resolution optical (ESI) and near-infrared (NIRSPEC) spectroscopy with the Keck~II telescope.
The SFR estimated from the dust emission in the far infrared and synchrotron radiation from supernovae in radio frequencies will be compared to the standard optical indicators of star formation that use the [O~II] and H\alpha lines, corrected for extinction inferred from H\alpha/H\beta. The comparison between these different indicators allows us to constrain the relevance of extinction in the SFR determinations, which is a key issue in modern observational cosmology.
N.C.\ acknowledges financial support from a UCM Fundación del Amo fellowship.