Sains Malaysiana 51(9)(2022): 3059-3068

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2022-5109-25

Star Formation Rates for Elliptical Galaxies Derived from the WISE 12- and 22- µm Emission

(Kadar Penghasilan Bintang untuk Terbitan Galaksi Elips Terbitan daripada Gelombang 12- dan 22- µm WISE)

NUR HIDAYAH MOHD ALI¹, ZAMRI ZAINAL ABIDIN^1,* & CHORNG-YUAN HWANG²

¹Physics Department, Universiti Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory, Malaysia

²Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, Zhong-Li, Taoyuan

32001, Taiwan

Diserahkan: 13 Februari 2022/Diterima: 22 April 2022

Abstract

We investigated the star formation rates (SFRs) of selected elliptical galaxies using the infrared data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). The elliptical galaxies were selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) MPA-JHU catalog and morphology classified by Galaxy Zoo catalog. We used the 3.4-µm emission (W1) of WISE to represent the stellar mass of the galaxies and the 12- and 22-µm emission (W3 and W4) of WISE to represent the star formation activity of the galaxies. The W3- and W4-based star formation rates are usually overestimated due to the star emission in low star-forming galaxies. Stellar continuum emission could contribute to MIR fluxes of elliptical galaxies with an average overestimation of ~ 13.95 and ~ 0.77% from the observed fluxes of WISE W3 and W4-bands, which determined by using the estimated WISE W3 and W4 flux correction factors. Better SFRs can be obtained by subtracting the stellar contribution of the sources. Our result highlights the possibility of the existence of unknown mechanisms triggering the continuous star formation activities in elliptical galaxies.

Keywords: Galaxies; IR sources; star formation

Abstrak

Kami mengkaji kadar penghasilan bintang dalam galaksi elips terpilih menggunakan data inframerah daripada Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE). Galaksi dipilih daripada katalog Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) MPA-JHU dan disaring mengikut bentuk berdasarkan katalog Galaxy Zoo. Gelombang 3.4-µm (W1) daripada WISE digunakan bagi mewakili jisim bintang galaksi dan gelombang 12- and 22-µm (W3 dan W4) mewakili aktiviti penghasilan bintang. Kadar penghasilan bintang berdasarkan W3 dan W4 seringkali dianggarkan lebih tinggi disebabkan isyarat daripada bintang dalam galaksi yang kadar penghasilan bintangnya adalah rendah. Purata lebihan anggaran daripada WISE W3 adalah ~ 13.95 dan W4 adalah ~ 0.77% bagi galaksi elips, diukur berdasarkan agnggaran daripada faktor pembetulan untuk WISE W3 dan W4. Kadar penghasilan binatang yang lebih tepat diperoleh dengan menolak sumbangan daripada bintang tersebut. Keputusan kami menunjukkan bahawa tidak mustahil wujudnya satu mekanisme yang menghasilkan bintang secara berterusan dalam galaksi elips.

Kata kunci: Galaksi; pembentukan bintang; punca inframerah

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^*Corresponding author email: zzaa@um.edu.my