Star Formation Rate Indicators in WISE/SDSS

Abstract: With the goal of investigating the degree to which the total infrared luminosity ($L_{\rm TIR}$) traces the star formation rate (SFR), we analyze the $L_{\rm TIR}$ from the dust in a sample of $\sim$ 6000 star-forming galaxies, based on the 3.4, 4.6, 12 and 22 $\mu$m data from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and u, g, r, i, z band data from SDSS DR9. These star-forming galaxies are selected by matching the WISE All Sky Catalog with the star-forming galaxy catalog in SDSS DR9 provided by JHU/MPA\thanks{$http://www.sdss3.org/dr9/spectro/spectroaccess.php$}. The values of $L_{\rm TIR}$ and SFR are derived from the project Code Investigating Galaxy Emission (CIGALE). We study the relationship between the $L_{\rm TIR}$ and SFR. From this study, we derive reference SFR indicators for use in our analysis. Linear correlations between SFR and the $L_{\rm TIR}$ are found, and calibrations of SFRs based on it are proposed. The calibration holds for galaxies with verified observations and agrees well with previous works. The dispersion in the relation between $L_{\rm TIR}$ and SFR could partly be explained by the galaxy's properties, such as the 4000 {\AA} break.