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arXiv · 0803.4164

The energy output of the Universe from 0.1 micron to 1000 micron

Simon P. Driver·Cristina C. Popescu·Richard J. Tuffs·Alister W. Graham·Jochen Liske·Ivan Baldry
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Abstract

The dominant source of electromagnetic energy in the Universe today (over ultraviolet, optical and near-infrared wavelengths) is starlight. However, quantifying the amount of starlight produced has proven difficult due to interstellar dust grains which attenuate some unknown fraction of the light. Combining a recently calibrated galactic dust model with observations of 10,000 nearby galaxies we find that (integrated over all galaxy types and orientations) only (11 +/- 2)% of the 0.1 micron photons escape their host galaxies; this value rises linearly (with log(lambda)) to (87 +/- 3)% at 2.1 micron. We deduce that the energy output from stars in the nearby Universe is (1.6+/-0.2) x 10^{35} W Mpc^{-3} of which (0.9+/-0.1) x 10^{35} W Mpc^{-3} escapes directly into the inter-galactic medium. Some further ramifications of dust attenuation are discussed, and equations that correct individual galaxy flux measurements for its effect are provided.

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Simon P. Driver, Cristina C. Popescu, Richard J. Tuffs, Alister W. Graham, Jochen Liske, Ivan Baldry. 2008-03-28. The energy output of the Universe from 0.1 micron to 1000 micron. https://doi.org/10.1086/588582

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