A near infrared test for two recent luminosity functions for galaxies

TL;DR

This paper reviews two recent galaxy luminosity functions in the near infrared, analyzing their parameters, redshift distributions, and the photometric maximum, supported by simulations of the 2MASS Redshift Survey.

Contribution

It compares two recent galaxy luminosity functions and explores their implications for near-infrared galaxy observations using simulations.

Findings

The position of the photometric maximum depends on a critical parameter.

Simulations of the 2MASS Redshift Survey are consistent with the luminosity functions.

The study provides formulas linking galaxy counts to redshift and flux.

Abstract

Two recent luminosity function (LF) for galaxies are reviewed and the parameters which characterize the near infrared are fixed. A first LF is a modified Schechter LF with four parameters. The second LF is derived from the generalized gamma and has four parameters. The formulas which give the number of galaxies as function of the redshift are reviewed and a special attention is given to the position of the photometric maximum which is expressed as function of a critical parameter or the flux of radiation or the apparent magnitude. A simulation of the 2MASS Redshift Survey is given in the framework of the non Poissonian Voronoi Tessellation.