2021.03.18 - Daniela Calzetti
Channel: Coloquio IRyA
Date: 2021-03-22

Speaker Info: Prof. Daniela Calzetti, Head of the Department of Astronomy, UMASS Amherst
https://www.astro.umass.edu/people/faculty/daniela-calzetti


Title: Revisiting Attenuation Curves - Then and Now
Abstract: Over the next  decade, several facilities will come on-line 
which will observe the restframe UV/optical emission of galaxies  across 
the entire span of cosmic time, yielding samples of millions of  spectral  
energy  distributions (SEDs). Measurements of star formation rates (SFRs), 
masses, and other physical parameters  from those SEDs will enable 
comparisons with models of galaxy evolution with unprecedented accuracy. However, the derivation of physical parameters from observed SEDs requires 
removing the effects of  dust  attenuation. (Sub)mm facilities will 
not be able to provide sufficient areal coverage and sensitivity  to observe   
those  millions of galaxies. This implies that IR-based 
dust corrections will  be  difficult to extend to large galaxy samples. 
For most galaxies, dust  attenuation removal from their UV-optical SEDs will require the use of attenuation curves. I  will review the current  
state  of our understanding of attenuation curves at  low and high redshift, highlight both their strengths and weaknesses, and discuss what  steps may be able to move the field forward.