What Drives Galaxy–Galaxy Differences in the Selective Attenuation Curve? New Perspectives from DESI DR1
Abstract Leveraging a sample of 3457 galaxies drawn from DESI DR1 and crossmatched with archival Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) UV photometry, we construct new dust attenuation curves and measure how the shapes of these curves vary as a function of galaxy properties. Our curves are built by comparing the median flux densities of galaxies that have been divided into bins of nebular opacity, measured via the Balmer optical depth (i.e. the H α /H β ratio). When no further cuts on galaxy properties are applied, we find an attenuation curve very similar to previous work at low redshifts. We then test how the attenuation curves vary as a function of galaxy properties; stellar mass, specific star formation rate, metallicity, and ionization parameter. We find that the curve steepens significantly at higher specific star formation rate. In our data, there is not a clear link between the ionization parameter, mass, or metallicity and the attenuation curve slope.
Authors
- Daniela Calzetti (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5189-8004)
- Andrew Mizener (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2722-6600)
- John Moustakas (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2733-4559)
- Ranga-Ram Chary (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7583-0621)
Institutions
- University of Siena (IT)
- University of Massachusetts Amherst (US)
- University of California System (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- The Astrophysical Journal
- Published
- 2026-10-27
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/aea984
- Primary Topic
- Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration
- Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
- Oak Ridge Associated Universities
- California Institute of Technology
- Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique et aux Énergies Alternatives
- Office of Science
- Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- Agencia Estatal de Investigación
- Division of Astronomical Sciences
- High Energy Physics
- Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists
- Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory