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A. W. Blain (Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge)
Rest-frame ultraviolet observations provide a vital way to study ongoing high-mass star-formation activity in distant galaxies, combining excellent spatial resolution with good sensitivity, exploiting the very well-developed instrumentation available in the near-infrared and optical wavebands in the observer's frame. However, extinction and subsequent re-radiation at far-infrared wavelengths by interstellar dust can reduce significantly the intensity of ultraviolet radiation that can excape from a galaxy. At least for the most luminous high- and low-redshift galaxies, it is very difficult to derive rest-frame far-infrared luminosities from observations made in the rest-frame ultraviolet and vice versa. A multi-wavelength approach is probably necessary to move towards a complete picture of the history of star formation in galaxies. Only at the very highest redshifts, where heavy element abundances are expected to be very low, will rest-frame ultraviolet observations provide the only way to investigate galaxy evolution. This work was supported generously by the Raymond & Beverly Sackler Foundation as part of the Foundation's Deep Sky Initiative program at the IoA.