The role of HST in the study of near- and mid-infrared-selected galaxies

TL;DR

HST data have been crucial in studying infrared galaxies, especially in the GOODS fields, providing insights into star formation and stellar mass growth over cosmic time.

Contribution

This review highlights the significant role of HST in IR galaxy research, emphasizing recent European-led studies and multiwavelength analysis in GOODS fields.

Findings

HST data complement IR observations from VLT, Spitzer, Herschel, and ALMA.

Multiwavelength data from GOODS enable constraints on galaxy evolution.

HST has advanced understanding of star formation and mass assembly in IR galaxies.

Abstract

Because of their unique quality, Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data have played an important complementary role in studies of infrared (IR) galaxies conducted with major facilities, as VLT or Spitzer, and will be as well very valuable for future telescopes as Herschel and ALMA. I review here some of the most recent works led by European astronomers on IR galaxies, and discuss the role that HST has had in the study of different IR galaxy populations. I particularly focus the analysis on the GOODS fields, where the multiwavelength data and unique HST coverage have enabled to jointly put constraints on the evolution of star formation activity and stellar-mass growth with cosmic time.