Rest-frame far-ultraviolet to far-infrared view of Lyman break galaxies at z = 3: Templates and dust attenuation

Abstract

Aims. This work explores, from a statistical point of view, the rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV) to far-infrared (FIR) emission of a population of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) at z ∼ 3 that cannot be individually detected from current FIR observations. Methods. We performed a stacking analysis over a sample of ∼17 000 LBGs at redshift 2.5 <  z <  3.5 in the COSMOS field. The sample is binned as a function of UV luminosity (LFUV), UV continuum slope (βUV), and stellar mass (M*), and then stacked at optical (BVriz bands), near-infrared (YJHKs bands), IRAC (3.6, 4.5, 5.6, and 8.0 μm), MIPS (24 μm), PACS (100 and 160 μm), SPIRE (250, 350, and 500 μm), and AzTEC (1.1 mm) observations. We obtained 30 rest-frame FUV-to-FIR spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of LBGs at z ∼ 3, and analyzed these with the CIGALE SED-fitting analysis code. We were able to derive fully consistent physical parameters, that is, M*, βUV, LFUV, LIR, AFUV, star formation rate, and the slope of the dust attenuation law; we built a semiempirical library of 30 rest-frame FUV-to-FIR stacked LBG SEDs as functions of LFUV, βUV, and M*. Results. We used the so-called IR-excess (IRX ≡ LIR/LFUV) to investigate the dust attenuation as a function of βUV and M*. Our LBGs, averaged as a function of βUV, follow the well-known IRX–βUV calibration of local starburst galaxies. Stacks as a function of M* follow the IRX–M* relationship presented in the literature at high M* (log(M* [M⊙]) >  10). However, a large dispersion is shown in the IRX–βUV and IRX–M* planes, in which the βUV and M* are combined to average the sample. Additionally, the SED-fitting analysis results provide a diversity of dust attenuation curve along the LBG sample, and their slopes are well correlated with M*. Steeper dust attenuation curves than Calzetti’s are favored in low stellar mass LBGs (log(M* [M⊙]) <  10.25), while grayer dust attenuation curves are favored in high stellar mass LBGs (log(M* [M⊙]) >  10.25). We also demonstrate that the slope of the dust attenuation curves is one of the main drivers that shapes the IRX–βUV plane.