Stellar Mass Calibrations for Local Low-Mass Galaxies

Abstract: The stellar masses of galaxies are measured using integrated light via several methods -- however, few of these methods were designed for low-mass ($M_{\star}\lesssim10^{8}\rm{M_{\odot}}$) "dwarf" galaxies, whose properties (e.g., stochastic star formation, low metallicity) pose unique challenges for estimating stellar masses. In this work, we quantify the precision and accuracy at which stellar masses of low-mass galaxies can be recovered using UV/optical/IR photometry. We use mock observations of 469 low-mass galaxies from a variety of models, including both semi-empirical models (GRUMPY, UniverseMachine-SAGA) and cosmological baryonic zoom-in simulations (MARVELous Dwarfs and FIRE-2), to test literature color-$M_\star/L$ relations and multi-wavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) mass estimators. We identify a list of "best practices" for measuring stellar masses of low-mass galaxies from integrated photometry. These include updated prescriptions for stellar mass based on $g-r$ color and WISE 3.4 $\mu$m luminosity, which are less systematically biased than literature calibrations and can recover true stellar masses of low-mass galaxies with $\sim0.1$ dex precision. When using SED fitting to estimate stellar mass, we find that the form of the assumed star formation history can induce significant biases: parametric SFHs can underestimate stellar mass by as much as $\sim0.4$ dex, while non-parametric SFHs recover true stellar masses with insignificant offset ($-0.03\pm0.11$ dex). However, we also caution that non-informative dust attenuation priors may introduce $M_\star$ uncertainties of up to $\sim0.6$ dex.