Self-consistent Color–Stellar Mass-to-light Ratio Relations for Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

Abstract

Abstract The color–stellar mass-to-light ratio relation (CMLR) is a widely accepted tool for estimating the stellar mass (M *) of a galaxy. However, an individual CMLR tends to give distinct M * for a same galaxy when it is applied in different bands. Examining five representative CMLRs from the literature, we find that the difference in M * predicted in different bands from optical to near-infrared by a CMLR is 0.1 ∼ 0.3 dex. Based on a sample of low surface brightness galaxies that covers a wide range of color and luminosity, we therefore recalibrated each original CMLR in r, i, z, J, H, and K bands to give internally self-consistent M * for a same galaxy. The g–r is the primary color indicator in the recalibrated relations, which show little dependence on red (r–z) or near-infrared (J–K) colors. Additionally, the external discrepancies in the originally predicted γ * by the five independent CMLRs have been greatly reduced after recalibration, especially in the near-infrared bands, implying that the near-infrared luminosities are more robust in predicting γ *. For each CMLR, the recalibrated relations provided in this work could produce internally self-consistent M * from divergent photometric bands, and are extensions of the recalibrations from the Johnson–Cousin filter system by the pioneering work of McGaugh & Schombert to the filter system of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.