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SFRS Observing Campaigns

The SFRS team is currently carrying out three active observing campaigns to increase the wavelength coverage available for the sample.

NEAR-INFRARED PHOTOMETRY: In 2009, 2010, and 2011, we were awarded time with PAIRITEL for near-infrared imaging. Most of the sample has now been observed with simultaneous JHKs imaging that goes 2-3 mag deeper than the 2MASS data that were originally used to define the sample. The tremendous improvement in depth will enable much more accurate total near-infrared luminosities to be computed for all SFRS targets. This in turn will lead to much more accurate stellar mass estimates and correspondingly improved specific star formation rate estimates. Team member Ashby is coordinating the observations, and team members Bonfini and Zezas are analyzing the hundreds of mosaics acquired so far. Eventually the 2MASS photometry now available online will be superseded by the more accurate PAIRITEL data.

OPTICAL SPECTROSCOPY: The SFRS team is now well into its second observing season of carrying out optical longslit spectroscopy with FAST. Roughly 50 galaxies have been observed so far. The focus is presently on objects that lack SDSS fiber spectra, but the goal is to obtain high S/N ratio spectrscopy of the entire sample. The strategy is to use two configurations per target so as to detect most of the standard optical emission lines including the Balmer decrement and the forbidden lines used for the BPT diagnostics, in addition to the stellar continua. Among other things this will enable accurate dust extinction estimates via high S/N detections of H-alpha and -beta.

NARROW-BAND H-alpha IMAGING: Team members H. Wu and Y.-N. Zhu are leading a multi-season project to obtain sensitive H-alpha imaging of the entire sample. The goal is to measure H-alpha star formation rates for the entire SFRS sample, to compare to the far-infrared-based rates already measured with the combined IRAS, Spitzer, and Planck photometry. The outcome of the 2011 observing season will be announced soon.

photo of spitzer