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DOE OSTI2023

Measuring stellar populations, dust attenuation and ionized gas at kpc scales in 10010 nearby galaxies using the integral field spectroscopy from MaNGA

As one of the three major experiments of the fourth-generation Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV), the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apatch Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey has obtained high-quality integral field spectroscopy (IFS) with a resolution of 1–2 kpc for ∼ 10 4 galaxies in the local universe during its six-year operation from July 2014 through August 2020. It is crucial to reliably measure the physical properties of the different components in each spectrum before one can use the data for any scientific study. In the past years we have made lots of efforts to develop a novel technique of full spectral fitting, which estimates a model-independent dust attenuation curve from each spectrum, thus allowing us to break the degeneracy between dust attenuation and stellar population properties when fitting the spectrum with stellar population synthesis models. We have applied our technique to the final data release of MaNGA, and obtained measurements of stellar population properties and emission line parameters, as well as the kinematics and dust attenuation of both stellar and ionized gas components. In this paper we describe our technique and the content and format of our data products. The whole dataset is publicly available in Science Data Bank with the link https://doi.org/10.57760/sciencedb.j00113.00088 .

Physics↗

NASA NTRS2022

On the Stellar Populations of Galaxies at z=9–11:The Growth of Metals and Stellar Mass at Early Times

We present a detailed stellar population analysis of 11 bright (H < 26.6) galaxies at z=9−11 (three spectroscopically confirmed) to constrain the chemical enrichment and growth of stellar mass of early galaxies. We use the flexible Bayesian spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting code Prospector with a range of star-formation histories (SFHs), a flexible dust attenuation law and a self-consistent modeling of emission lines. This approach allows us to assess how different priors affect our results, and how well we can break degeneracies between dust attenuation, stellar ages, metallicity and emission lines using data which probe only the rest-frame ultraviolet to optical wavelengths. We measure a median observed ultraviolet spectral slope β= −1.87+0.35−0.43 for relatively massive star-forming galaxies (9 10

Sandro Tacchella↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Chemodynamics of the Stellar Populations in M31 from APOGEE Integrated-light Spectroscopy

We present an analysis of nearly 1000 near-infrared, integrated-light spectra from APOGEE in the inner ~7 kpc of M31. We utilize full-spectrum fitting with A-LIST simple stellar population spectral templates that represent a population of stars with the same age, [M/H], and [α/M]. With this, we determine the mean kinematics, metallicities, α abundances, and ages of the stellar populations of M31's bar, bulge, and inner disk (~4–7 kpc). We find a nonaxisymmetric velocity field in M31 resulting from the presence of a bar. The bulge of M31 is less metal-rich (mean [M/H] = $0.149$$^{+0.067}_{-0.081}$ dex) than the disk, features minima in metallicity on either side of the bar ([M/H] ~ -0.2), and is enhanced in α abundance (mean [α/M] = $0.281$$^{+0.035}_{-0.038}$). The disk of M31 within ~7 kpc is enhanced in both metallicity ([M/H] = $-0.023$$^{+0.050}_{-0.052}$) and α abundance ([α/M] = $0.274$$^{+0.020}_{-0.025}$). Both of these structural components are uniformly old at ≃12 Gyr. We find the mean metallicity increases with distance from the center of M31, with the steepest gradient along the disk major axis (0.043 ± 0.021 dex kpc -1 ). This gradient is the result of changing light contributions from the bulge and disk. The chemodynamics of stellar populations encodes information about a galaxy's chemical enrichment, star formation history, and merger history, allowing us to discuss new constraints on M31's formation. Our results provide a stepping stone between our understanding of the Milky Way and other external galaxies.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1984

Stellar populations in local group dwarf elliptical galaxies. II - NGC 205

NGC 205, a dwarf elliptical companion of M31, was studied using deep CCD photometry on the VRI system. Consideration is given to a comparison between the giant branch and the Galactic globular clusters, the degree of chemical enrichment in the outer parts of NGC 204, and the setting of constraints on the stellar population of NGC 205. Should the distance of the galaxy be that of M31, this field's stellar population is extremely old. If star formation in NGC 205 is a recurring phenomenon, it is confined to the interior of the galaxy. Should the stellar population of NGC 205 be as old as Galactic globular clusters, its distance modulus is 24.3 + or - 0.2. The giant branch location corresponds to a mean metallicity greater than or equal to -0.9 + or - 0.2, and a metallicity dispersion is determined to be sigma greater than or equal to 0.5 dex. Also noted is that the color distribution at a given luminosity appears to be positively skewed.

Mould, J.↗

DOE OSTI2021

The APOGEE Library of Infrared SSP Templates (A-LIST): High-resolution Simple Stellar Population Spectral Models in the H Band

Integrated light spectroscopy from galaxies can be used to study the stellar populations that cannot be resolved into individual stars. This analysis relies on stellar population synthesis (SPS) techniques to study the formation history and structure of galaxies. However, the spectral templates available for SPS are limited, especially in the near-infrared (near-IR). We present A-LIST (APOGEE Library of Infrared SSP Templates), a new set of high-resolution, near-IR SSP spectral templates spanning a wide range of ages (2–12 Gyr), metallicities ( − 2.2 < [M/H] < + 0.4) and α abundances ( − 0.2 < [α/M] < + 0.4). This set of SSP templates is the highest resolution (R ∼ 22, 500) available in the near-IR, and the first such based on an empirical stellar library. Our models are generated using spectra of ∼300,000 stars spread across the Milky Way, with a wide range of metallicities and abundances, from the APOGEE survey. We show that our model spectra provide accurate fits to M31 globular cluster spectra taken with APOGEE, with best-fit metallicities agreeing with those of previous estimates to within ∼0.1 dex. We also compare these model spectra to lower-resolution E-MILES models and demonstrate that we recover the ages of these models to within ∼1.5 Gyr. This library is available in https://github.com/aishashok/ALIST-library.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2020

Structural and stellar-population properties versus bulge types in Sloan Digital Sky Survey central galaxies

ABSTRACT This paper studies pseudo-bulges (P-bulges) and classical bulges (C-bulges) in Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) central galaxies using the new bulge indicator ΔΣ1, which measures relative central stellar-mass surface density within 1 kpc. We compare ΔΣ1 to the established bulge-type indicator Δ〈μe〉 from Gadotti (2009) and show that classifying by ΔΣ1 agrees well with Δ〈μe〉. ΔΣ1 requires no bulge–disc decomposition and can be measured on SDSS images out to z = 0.07. Bulge types using it are mapped on to 20 different structural and stellar-population properties for 12 000 SDSS central galaxies with masses 10.0 < log M*/M⊙ < 10.4. New trends emerge from this large sample. Structural parameters show fairly linear log–log relations versus ΔΣ1 and Δ〈μe〉 with only moderate scatter, while stellar-population parameters show a highly non-linear ‘elbow’ in which specific star formation rate remains roughly flat with increasing central density and then falls rapidly at the elbow, where galaxies begin to quench. P-bulges occupy the low-density end of the horizontal arm of the elbow and are universally star forming, while C-bulges occupy the elbow and the vertical branch and exhibit a wide range of star formation rates at a fixed density. The non-linear relation between central density and star formation rate has been seen before, but this mapping on to bulge class is new. The wide range of star formation rates in C-bulges helps to explain why bulge classifications using different parameters have sometimes disagreed in the past. The elbow-shaped relation between density and stellar indices suggests that central structure and stellar populations evolve at different rates as galaxies begin to quench.

Luo, Yifei↗

DOE OSTI2021

The SAMI Galaxy Survey: stellar population and structural trends across the Fundamental Plane

ABSTRACT We study the Fundamental Plane (FP) for a volume- and luminosity-limited sample of 560 early-type galaxies from the SAMI survey. Using r-band sizes and luminosities from new multi-Gaussian expansion photometric measurements, and treating luminosity as the dependent variable, the FP has coefficients a = 1.294 ± 0.039, b = 0.912 ± 0.025, and zero-point c = 7.067 ± 0.078. We leverage the high signal-to-noise ratio of SAMI integral field spectroscopy, to determine how structural and stellar population observables affect the scatter about the FP. The FP residuals correlate most strongly (8σ significance) with luminosity-weighted simple stellar population (SSP) age. In contrast, the structural observables surface mass density, rotation-to-dispersion ratio, Sérsic index, and projected shape all show little or no significant correlation. We connect the FP residuals to the empirical relation between age (or stellar mass-to-light ratio Υ⋆ ) and surface mass density, the best predictor of SSP age amongst parameters based on FP observables. We show that the FP residuals (anti)correlate with the residuals of the relation between surface density and Υ⋆ . This correlation implies that part of the FP scatter is due to the broad age and Υ⋆ distribution at any given surface mass density. Using virial mass and Υ⋆, we construct a simulated FP and compare it to the observed FP. We find that, while the empirical relations between observed stellar population relations and FP observables are responsible for most (75 per cent) of the FP scatter, on their own they do not explain the observed tilt of the FP away from the virial plane.

D’Eugenio, Francesco↗

NASA NTRS1993

The stellar population and luminosity function in M31 bulge and Inner Disk Fields

We report infrared photometry and stellar identifications for stars in five fields in the M31 bulge located from 2 to 11 arcmin from the nucleus. These fields have been chosen such that the bulge/disk star ratio predicted from Kent's (1989) small bulge model varies from 7:1 to 1:5, allowing a study of near pure disk and near pure bulge stellar populations. We reject the hypothesis of Davies et al. (1991) that luminous stars found within 500 pc of the nucleus are due to a contaminating disk population. We find that the bulge contains stars in excess of M(sub bol) = -5 mag and that the bulge luminosity function has a distinct shape different from the disk fields. We find many stars redder than (J-K) = 2 mag, and suggest that these stars may be the counterparts of the IRAS-selected Galactic bulge Miras studied by Whitelock et at. (1991). The number of bright stars (M(sub bol) is less than -5 mag) falls off more rapidly than the r band surface brightness. By building model fields out of a bulge luminosity function and artificial stars, we are able to show that the change in the luminosity function toward the center cannot be explained simply by the mismeasurement of overcrowded star images. However, these tests also raise the possibility that the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) tip may be approximately equal to 1 mag fainter than actually measured in our most crowded field, reaching only M(sub bol) = -5. We compare observed counts of AGB stars with those predicted from theoretical lifetimes using a technique of general interest for this problem, the Fuel Consumption Theorem of Renzini & Buzzoni (1986) Spectral Evolution of Galaxies (Reidel, Dordrecht). Our methodology is generally applicable to the study of other resolved extragalactic stellar populations. The number of observed stars per magnitude up to a luminosity of M(bol) = -5.5 mag is consistent with AGB evolution of the whole population of the innermost bulge field with the standard lifetime on the AGB of 1.3 Myr/mag. We advance the possibility that the bulge of M31 may be younger than the oldest Galactic globular clusters. We note that M33 has recently been found to have an r(exp 1/4)-law spheroid consisting of intermediate-age stars; bulges can form later than the old halo population.

Rich, R. Michael↗

NASA NTRS2013

Quiescent Galaxies in the 3D-HST Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of a Large Number of Galaxies With Relatively Old Stellar Populations at z Approx. 2

Quiescent galaxies at z approx. 2 have been identified in large numbers based on rest-frame colors, but only a small number of these galaxies have been spectroscopically confirmed to show that their rest-frame optical spectra show either strong Balmer or metal absorption lines. Here, we median stack the rest-frame optical spectra for 171 photometrically quiescent galaxies at 1.4 < z < 2.2 from the 3D-HST grism survey. In addition to H (4861 ),we unambiguously identify metal absorption lines in the stacked spectrum, including the G band (4304 ),Mgi (5175 ), and Na i (5894 ). This finding demonstrates that galaxies with relatively old stellar populations already existed when the universe was approx. 3 Gyr old, and that rest-frame color selection techniques can efficiently select them. We find an average age of 1.3+0.10.3 Gyr when fitting a simple stellar population to the entire stack. We confirm our previous result from medium-band photometry that the stellar age varies with the colors of quiescent galaxies: the reddest 80 of galaxies are dominated by metal lines and have a relatively old mean age of 1.6+0.50.4 Gyr, whereas the bluest (and brightest) galaxies have strong Balmer lines and a spectroscopic age of 0.9+0.20.1 Gyr. Although the spectrum is dominated by an evolved stellar population, we also find [O iii] and H emission. Interestingly, this emission is more centrally concentrated than the continuum with LOiii = 1.7+/- 0.3 x 10(exp 40) erg/s, indicating residual central star formation or nuclear activity.

Quiescent↗

NASA NTRS2013

Quiescent Galaxies in the 3D-HST Survey: Spectroscopic Confirmation of a Large Number of Galaxies with Relatively Old Stellar Populations at Z approx. 2

Quiescent galaxies at zeta approximately 2 have been identified in large numbers based on rest-frame colors, but only a small number of these galaxies have been spectroscopically confirmed to show that their rest-frame optical spectra show either strong Balmer or metal absorption lines. Here, we median stack the rest-frame optical spectra for 171 photometrically quiescent galaxies at 1.4 less than z less than 2.2 from the 3D-HST grism survey. In addition to H(Beta) (lambda 4861 Angstroms), we unambiguously identify metal absorption lines in the stacked spectrum, including the G band (lambda 4304 Angstroms), Mg I (lambda 5175 Angstroms), and Na i (lambda 5894 Angstroms). This finding demonstrates that galaxies with relatively old stellar populations already existed when the universe was approximately 3 Gyr old, and that rest-frame color selection techniques can efficiently select them. We find an average age of 1.3(+0.1/−0.3) Gyr when fitting a simple stellar population to the entire stack. We confirm our previous result from medium-band photometry that the stellar age varies with the colors of quiescent galaxies: the reddest 80% of galaxies are dominated by metal lines and have a relatively old mean age of 1.6(+0.5/−0.4) Gyr, whereas the bluest (and brightest) galaxies have strong Balmer lines and a spectroscopic age of 0.9(+0.2/−0.1) Gyr. Although the spectrum is dominated by an evolved stellar population, we also find [O III] and Hβ emission. Interestingly, this emission is more centrally concentrated than the continuum with L(sub OIII) = 1.7 +/- 0.3 × 10(exp 40 erg s−1, indicating residual central star formation or nuclear activity.

Quiescent↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Demographics, Stellar Populations, and Star Formation Histories of Fast Radio Burst Host Galaxies: Implications for the Progenitors

We present a comprehensive catalog of observations and stellar population properties for 23 highly secure host galaxies of fast radio bursts (FRBs). Our sample comprises 6 repeating FRBs and 17 apparent nonrepeaters. We present 82 new photometric and 8 new spectroscopic observations of these hosts. Using stellar population synthesis modeling and employing nonparametric star formation histories (SFHs), we find that FRB hosts have a median stellar mass of ≈10 9.9 M ⊙ , mass-weighted age ≈5.1 Gyr, and ongoing star formation rate ≈1.3 M ⊙ yr -1 but span wide ranges in all properties. Classifying the hosts by degree of star formation, we find that 87% (20 of 23 hosts) are star-forming, two are transitioning, and one is quiescent. The majority trace the star-forming main sequence of galaxies, but at least three FRBs in our sample originate in less-active environments (two nonrepeaters and one repeater). Across all modeled properties, we find no statistically significant distinction between the hosts of repeaters and nonrepeaters. However, the hosts of repeating FRBs generally extend to lower stellar masses, and the hosts of nonrepeaters arise in more optically luminous galaxies. While four of the galaxies with the clearest and most prolonged rises in their SFHs all host repeating FRBs, demonstrating heightened star formation activity in the last ≲100 Myr, one nonrepeating host shows this SFH as well. Our results support progenitor models with short delay channels (i.e., magnetars formed via core-collapse supernova) for most FRBs, but the presence of some FRBs in less-active environments suggests a fraction form through more delayed channels.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2022

The MaNGA firefly Value-Added-Catalogue: resolved stellar populations of 10,010 nearby galaxies

We present the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory survey (MaNGA) FIREFLY Value Added Catalogue (VAC) – a catalogue of ~3.7 million spatially resolved stellar population properties across 10 010 nearby galaxies from the final data release of the MaNGA survey. The full spectral fitting code FIREFLY is employed to derive parameters such as stellar ages, metallicities, stellar and remnant masses, star formation histories, star formation rates, and dust attenuation. In addition to Voronoi-binned measurements, our VAC also provides global properties, such as central values and radial gradients. Two variants of the VAC are available: presenting the results from fits using the M11-MILES and the novel MaStar stellar population models. MaStar allows to constrain the fit over the whole MaNGA wavelength range, extends the age-metallicity parameter space, and uses empirical spectra from the same instrument as MaNGA. The fits employing MaStar models find, on average, slightly younger ages, higher mass-weighted metallicities, and smaller colour excesses. These differences are reduced when matching the wavelength range and converging template grids. We further report that FIREFLY stellar masses are systematically lower by ~0.3 dex than masses from the MaNGA PCA and Pipe3D VACs, but match masses from the NSA best with only ~0.1-dex difference. Finally, we show that FIREFLY stellar ages correlate with spectral index age indicators H δ A and D n (4000), though with a clear additional metallicity dependence.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

NASA NTRS1994

Old stellar populations. 5: Absorption feature indices for the complete LICK/IDS sample of stars

Twenty-one optical absorption features, 11 of which have been previously defined, are automatically measured in a sample of 460 stars. Following Gorgas et al., the indices are summarized in fitting functions that give index strengths as functions of stellar temperature, gravity, and (Fe/H). This project was carried out with the purpose of predicting index strengths in the integrated light of stellar populations of different ages and metallicities, but the data should be valuable for stellar studies in the Galaxy as well. Several of the new indices appear to be promising indicators of metallicity for old stellar populations. A complete list of index data and atmospheric parameters is available in computer-readable form.

Worthey, Guy↗

DOE OSTI2020

SDSS-IV MaNGA : Excavating the fossil record of stellar populations in spiral galaxies

ABSTRACT We perform a ‘fossil record’ analysis for ≈800 low-redshift spiral galaxies, using starlight applied to integral field spectroscopic observations from the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey to obtain fully spatially resolved high-resolution star formation histories (SFHs). From the SFHs, we are able to build maps indicating the present-day distribution of stellar populations of different ages in each galaxy. We find small negative mean age gradients in most spiral galaxies, especially at high stellar mass, which reflects the formation times of stellar populations at different galactocentric radii. We show that the youngest (<108.5 yr) populations exhibit significantly more extended distributions than the oldest (>109.5 yr), again with a strong dependence on stellar mass. By interpreting the radial profiles of ‘time slices’ as indicative of the size of the galaxy at the time those populations had formed, we are able to trace the simultaneous growth in mass and size of the spiral galaxies over the last 10 Gyr. Despite finding that the evolution of the measured light-weighted radius is consistent with inside-out growth in the majority of spiral galaxies, the evolution of an equivalent mass-weighted radius has changed little over the same time period. Since radial migration effects are likely to be small, we conclude that the growth of discs in spiral galaxies has occurred predominantly through an inside-out mode (with the effect greatest in high-mass galaxies), but this has not had anywhere near as much impact on the distribution of mass within spiral galaxies.

Peterken, Thomas↗

NASA NTRS2011

Stellar Populations of Highly Magnified Lensed Galaxies Young Starburst at Z to Approximately 2

We present a comprehensive analysis of the rest-frame UV to near-IR spectral energy distributions and rest-frame optical spectra of four of the brightest gravitationally lensed galaxies in the literature: RCSGA 032727-132609 at z = 170, MS1512-cB58 at z = 2.73, SGAS J152745.1+065219 at z = 2.76 and SGAS J12265L3+215220 at z = 2.92. This includes new Spitzer imaging for RCSGA0327 as well as new spectra, near-IR imaging and Spitzer imaging for SGAS1527 and SGAS1226. Lensing magnifications of 3-4 magnitudes allow a detailed study of the stellar populations and physical conditions. We compare star formation rates as measured from the SED fit, the Ha and [O II] .(lambda)3727 emission lines, and the UV+IR bolometric luminosity where 24micron photometry is available. The SFR estimate from the SED fit is consistently higher than the other indicators, which suggests that the Calzetti dust extinction law used in the SED fitting is too flat for young star-forming galaxies at z approx. 2. Our analysis finds similar stellar population parameters for all four lensed galaxies: stellar masses 3 - 7 x 10(exp 9) Stellar mass, young ages approx. 100 Myr, little dust content E(B - V)=0.10-0.25, and star formation rates around 20- 100 Stellar mass/y. Compared to typical values for the galaxy population at z approx. 2, this suggests we are looking at newly formed, starbursting systems that have only recently started the build-up of stellar mass. These results constitute the first detailed, uniform analysis of a sample of the growing number of strongly lensed galaxies known at z approx. 2. Subject headings: galaxies: high-redshift, strong gravitational lensing, infrared: galaxies

Wuyts, Eva↗

NASA NTRS1989

Near-infrared photometry and stellar populations of first-ranked galaxies in a complete sample of nearby Abell clusters

Eighty-four brightest cluster members (BCMs) in the complete sample of high Galactic latitude nearby Abell clusters of Hoessel, Gunn, and Thuan (HGT) are investigated. The stellar populations in BCMs using near-infrared and optical-near-infrared colors are studied. Brighter BCMs have redder (J-K) and (V-K) colors, suggesting a metallicity increase in brighter galaxies. The larger dispersion of their colors implies that BCMs possess more heterogeneous stellar populations than their lower luminosity counterparts, the normal elliptical galaxies. Special attention is paid to BCMs associated with cooling flows. BCMs with larger accretion rates have bluer (V-K) colors due to ultraviolet excesses and are brighter in the visual wavelength region, but not in the infrared. It is suggested that part of the X-ray emitting cooling gas is converted into high- and intermediate-mass stars emitting in the blue and visible, but not in the infrared. The properties of BCMs as standard candles in the near-infrared are examined and compared with those in the optical.

Thuan, Trinx X.↗

NASA NTRS2020

REQUIEM-2D Methodology: Spatially Resolved Stellar Populations of Massive Lensed Quiescent Galaxies from Hubble Space Telescope 2D Grism Spectroscopy

We present a novel Bayesian methodology to jointly model photometry and deep Hubble Space Telescope 2D grism spectroscopy of high-redshift galaxies. Our requiem2d code measures both unresolved and resolved stellar populations, ages, and star formation histories (SFHs) for the ongoing REsolving QUIEscent Magnified (REQUIEM) Galaxies Survey, which targets strong gravitationally lensed quiescent galaxies at z ∼ 2. We test the accuracy of requiem2d using a simulated sample of massive galaxies at z ∼ 2 from the Illustris cosmological simulation and find that we recover the general trends in SFH and median stellar ages. We further present a pilot study for the REQUIEM Galaxies Survey: MRG-S0851, a quintuply imaged, massive (log M ⁎ / M ʘ = 11.02 ± 0.04) red galaxy at z = 1.883 ± 0.001. With an estimated gravitational magnification of µ = 5.7 - 0.2 + 0.4, we sample the stellar populations on 0.6 kpc physical size bins. The global mass-weighted median age is constrained to be 1.8 - 0.2 + 0.3 Gyr, and our spatially resolved analysis reveals that MRG-S0851 has a flat age gradient in the inner 3 kpc core after taking into account the subtle effects of dust and metallicity on age measurements, favoring an early formation scenario. The analysis for the full REQUIEM-2D sample will be presented in a forthcoming paper with a beta release of the requiem2d code.

Strong gravitational lensing↗

NASA NTRS2012

Stellar Populations of Highly Magnified Lensed Galaxies: Young Starbursts at Z approximately 2

We present a comprehensive analysis of the rest-frame UV to near-IR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) and rest-frame optical spectra of four of the brightest gravitationally lensed galaxies in the literature: RCSGA 032727-132609 at z = 1.70, MS1512-cB58 at z = 2.73, SGAS J152745.1+065219 at z = 2.76, and SGAS J122651.3+215220 at z = 2.92. This includes new Spitzer imaging for RCSGA0327 as well as new spectra, near-IR imaging and Spitzer imaging for SGAS1527 and SGAS1226. Lensing magnifications of 3-4 mag allow a detailed study of the stellar populations and physical conditions. We compare star formation rates (SFRs) as measured from the SED fit, the Ha and [O II] ?3727 emission lines, and the UV+IR bolometric luminosity where 24 micron photometry is available. The SFR estimate from the SED fit is consistently higher than the other indicators, which suggests that the Calzetti dust extinction law used in the SED fitting is too flat for young star-forming galaxies at z ~ 2. Our analysis finds similar stellar population parameters for all four lensed galaxies: stellar masses (3-7) ? 10(exp 9)Solar M young ages approx 100 Myr, little dust content E(B - V) = 0.10-0.25, and SFRs around 20-100 solar M/ yr. Compared to typical values for the galaxy population at z approx. 2, this suggests we are looking at newly formed, starbursting systems that have only recently started the buildup of stellar mass. These results constitute the first detailed, uniform analysis of a sample of the growing number of strongly lensed galaxies known at z approx 2.

Wuyts, Eva↗