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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
On The Evolutionary History Of Stars And Their Fossil Mass And Light, Ma Fardal, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, R Dave
On The Evolutionary History Of Stars And Their Fossil Mass And Light, Ma Fardal, N Katz, Dh Weinberg, R Dave
Astronomy Department Faculty Publication Series
The total extragalactic background radiation can be an important test of the global star formation history (SFH). Using direct observational estimates of the SFH, along with standard assumptions about the initial mass function (IMF), we calculate the total extragalactic background radiation and the observed stellar density today. We show that plausible SFHs allow a significant range in each quantity, but that their ratio is very tightly constrained. Current estimates of the stellar mass and extragalactic background are difficult to reconcile, as long as the IMF is fixed to the Salpeter slope above 1 M⊙. The joint confidence interval …