AKARI/IRC Broadband Mid-infrared data as an indicator of Star Formation Rate

TL;DR

This paper presents new calibrations linking AKARI/IRC mid-infrared fluxes at 9 and 18 micrometers to star formation rates in galaxies, validated against other infrared data, enabling better SFR estimates for dust-rich galaxies.

Contribution

First calibration of SFR using AKARI/IRC mid-infrared bands, demonstrating their correlation with galaxy star formation activity.

Findings

Both S9W and L18W fluxes correlate with SFR.

Calibrations agree with previous Spitzer-based results.

Applicable to dust-rich galaxies.

Abstract

AKARI/Infrared Camera (IRC) Point Source Catalog provides a large amount of flux data at {\it S9W} ($9\ {\rm \mu m}$) and {\it L18W} ($18\ {\rm \mu m}$) bands. With the goal of constructing Star-Formation Rate(SFR) calculations using IRC data, we analyzed an IR selected GALEX-SDSS-2MASS-AKARI(IRC/Far-Infrared Surveyor) sample of 153 nearby galaxies. The far-infrared fluxes were obtained from AKARI diffuse maps to correct the underestimation for extended sources raised by the point-spread function photometry. SFRs of these galaxies were derived by the spectral energy distribution fitting program CIGALE. In spite of complicated features contained in these bands, both the {\it S9W} and {\it L18W} emission correlate with the SFR of galaxies. The SFR calibrations using {\it S9W} and {\it L18W} are presented for the first time. These calibrations agree well with previous works based on Spitzer data within the scatters, and should be applicable to dust-rich galaxies.