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Paper: Revealing the Light from Old Stars: Stars, Dust, and PAH Emission in S4G Infrared Array Camera 3.6 and 4.5 μm Images
Volume: 486, Multi-Spin Galaxies
Page: 143
Authors: Querejeta, M.; Meidt, S. E.; Schinnerer, E.; S4G Collaboration
Abstract: The Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies imaged 2352 nearby galaxies (D<40 Mpc) in two Infrared Array Camera bands: 3.6 and 4.5μm, an optimal window to trace stellar mass, since most emission comes from the old stars that dominate the baryonic mass budget. However, contamination from non-stellar sources can locally be significant in these bands, severely biasing the derived mass distributions in some regions. Here, we explore the automatic application of a published method to correct for that non-stellar emission, which is based on an independent component analysis technique. Defining the best strategy to apply the above technique to the whole sample has allowed us to obtain contaminant-free maps of the old stellar flux for hundreds of galaxies, which are readily convertible into mass maps. Their public release provides a powerful tool for studies of stellar structure and secular evolution.
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