A Simple Model for the Extragalactic Background Light
Abstract
We find that it is possible to match observational limits on the spectral intensity of the extragalactic background light (EBL) with a surprisingly simple theoretical model. We use a combination of blackbody spectral energy distributions (SEDs) in a standard LambdaCDM background, normalized so that the overall luminosity density evolves with redshift in agreement with constraints on cosmic star formation history from Nagamine et al. Our results suggest that the "Fossil model" of luminosity density evolution best fits the observations (others produce either too much or too little light in the bolometric sense). Four blackbodies are sufficient to provide an excellent fit. We associate these four peaks physically with starlight and re-emission of that light at longer wavelengths by dust in both normal and starburst galaxies. We plan to use this simple model in numerical studies of the role of extinction by dust in the intergalactic medium.
- Publication:
-
American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23334914G