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C. Gronwall (JHU), J.J. Salzer, V.L. Sarajedini (Wesleyan U.)
We have studied the far-IR properties of nearby emission-line galaxies (ELGs) from the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS). KISS is a modern objective-prism survey which combines the wide field survey capability of a Schmidt telescope combined with the deep sensitivity of a CCD detector. KISS galaxies are selected via their strong H\alpha emission and are primarily active star-forming galaxies. We have used the survey to measure the local star formation rate density which is a crucial element in our understanding of galaxy evolution and formation. Unfortunately, one of the largest uncertainties encountered in translating H\alpha emission-line flux (or UV emission) to star formation rate is the internal extinction due to dust. We have studied the effect of dust in emission-line galaxies by comparing the information from optical spectroscopy (the Balmer decrement) to their far-infrared fluxes using data gathered by the Infrared Astronomical Satellite (IRAS). We have also used the far-IR fluxes to derive a complementary measure of the star-formation rates of the KISS galaxies.
The author(s) of this abstract have provided an email address for comments about the abstract: caryl@pha.jhu.edu