Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models

The upcoming all-sky infrared spectrophotometric SPHEREx mission is set to provide spatially resolved stellar mass maps of nearby galaxies, offering more detailed insights than integrated light observations. In this study, we develop a strategy for estimating stellar mass using SPHEREx by examining...

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Main Authors: Jeong Hwan Lee, Minjin Kim, Taehyun Kim, Hyunjin Shim, Luis C. Ho, Ho Seong Hwang, Hyunmi Song, Dohyeong Kim, Yujin Yang, Woong-Seob Jeong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IOP Publishing 2025-01-01
Series:The Astronomical Journal
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adb285
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author Jeong Hwan Lee
Minjin Kim
Taehyun Kim
Hyunjin Shim
Luis C. Ho
Ho Seong Hwang
Hyunmi Song
Dohyeong Kim
Yujin Yang
Woong-Seob Jeong
author_facet Jeong Hwan Lee
Minjin Kim
Taehyun Kim
Hyunjin Shim
Luis C. Ho
Ho Seong Hwang
Hyunmi Song
Dohyeong Kim
Yujin Yang
Woong-Seob Jeong
author_sort Jeong Hwan Lee
collection DOAJ
description The upcoming all-sky infrared spectrophotometric SPHEREx mission is set to provide spatially resolved stellar mass maps of nearby galaxies, offering more detailed insights than integrated light observations. In this study, we develop a strategy for estimating stellar mass using SPHEREx by examining the dependence on different stellar population synthesis (SPS) models and proposing new scaling relations based on simulated SPHEREx data. We estimate the resolved stellar masses of 19 nearby late-type galaxies from the PHANGS-MUSE survey, treating these as fiducial masses. By testing four SPS models covering infrared wavelengths, i.e., E-MILES, Bruzual & Charlot (BC03), Charlot & Bruzual (CB19), and FSPS, we find systematic differences in mass-to-light ratios at 3.6 μ m ( M _* / L _3.6 _μ _m ) among the SPS models. In particular, BC03 and CB19 yield mass-to-light ratios on average  ∼0.2−0.3 dex lower than those from E-MILES and FSPS. These mass-to-light ratios strongly correlate with stellar age, indicating a significant impact of young stellar populations on stellar mass measurements. Our analysis, incorporating fiducial masses and simulated SPHEREx data, identifies the 1.6 μ m band as the optimal wavelength for stellar mass estimation, with the lowest scatter (0.15−0.20 dex) of the stellar mass. This scatter can be further reduced to 0.10−0.12 dex across all SPS models by incorporating optical and SPHEREx colors. These results can provide guidance for measuring the stellar masses of the numerous nearby galaxies that SPHEREx will survey.
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spelling doaj-art-ac6567b2fc864c05b48554ee56f210b02025-08-20T03:04:43ZengIOP PublishingThe Astronomical Journal1538-38812025-01-01169318510.3847/1538-3881/adb285Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis ModelsJeong Hwan Lee0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3301-759XMinjin Kim1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3560-0781Taehyun Kim2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5857-5136Hyunjin Shim3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4179-2628Luis C. Ho4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6947-5846Ho Seong Hwang5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3428-7612Hyunmi Song6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4362-4070Dohyeong Kim7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6925-4821Yujin Yang8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3078-2763Woong-Seob Jeong9https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2770-808XResearch Institute of Basic Sciences, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Department of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; The Center for High Energy Physics, Kyungpook National University , Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea; Department of Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences, Kyungpook National University , Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea ; mkim.astro@gmail.comDepartment of Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences, Kyungpook National University , Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea ; mkim.astro@gmail.comDepartment of Astronomy and Atmospheric Sciences, Kyungpook National University , Daegu 41566, Republic of Korea ; mkim.astro@gmail.comDepartment of Earth Science Education, Kyungpook National University , Daegu 41566, Republic of KoreaKavli Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of China; Department of Astronomy, School of Physics, Peking University , Beijing 100871, People’s Republic of ChinaDepartment of Physics and Astronomy, Seoul National University , 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; SNU Astronomy Research Center, Seoul National University , Seoul 08826, Republic of Korea; Australian Astronomical Optics—Macquarie University , 105 Delhi Road, North Ryde, NSW 2113, AustraliaDepartment of Astronomy and Space Science, Chungnam National University , Daejeon 34134, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Earth Sciences, Pusan National University , Busan 46241, Republic of KoreaKorea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , Daejeon 34055, Republic of Korea; University of Science and Technology , Korea, Daejeon 34113, Republic of KoreaKorea Astronomy and Space Science Institute , Daejeon 34055, Republic of Korea; University of Science and Technology , Korea, Daejeon 34113, Republic of KoreaThe upcoming all-sky infrared spectrophotometric SPHEREx mission is set to provide spatially resolved stellar mass maps of nearby galaxies, offering more detailed insights than integrated light observations. In this study, we develop a strategy for estimating stellar mass using SPHEREx by examining the dependence on different stellar population synthesis (SPS) models and proposing new scaling relations based on simulated SPHEREx data. We estimate the resolved stellar masses of 19 nearby late-type galaxies from the PHANGS-MUSE survey, treating these as fiducial masses. By testing four SPS models covering infrared wavelengths, i.e., E-MILES, Bruzual & Charlot (BC03), Charlot & Bruzual (CB19), and FSPS, we find systematic differences in mass-to-light ratios at 3.6 μ m ( M _* / L _3.6 _μ _m ) among the SPS models. In particular, BC03 and CB19 yield mass-to-light ratios on average  ∼0.2−0.3 dex lower than those from E-MILES and FSPS. These mass-to-light ratios strongly correlate with stellar age, indicating a significant impact of young stellar populations on stellar mass measurements. Our analysis, incorporating fiducial masses and simulated SPHEREx data, identifies the 1.6 μ m band as the optimal wavelength for stellar mass estimation, with the lowest scatter (0.15−0.20 dex) of the stellar mass. This scatter can be further reduced to 0.10−0.12 dex across all SPS models by incorporating optical and SPHEREx colors. These results can provide guidance for measuring the stellar masses of the numerous nearby galaxies that SPHEREx will survey.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adb285Late-type galaxiesGalaxy stellar content
spellingShingle Jeong Hwan Lee
Minjin Kim
Taehyun Kim
Hyunjin Shim
Luis C. Ho
Ho Seong Hwang
Hyunmi Song
Dohyeong Kim
Yujin Yang
Woong-Seob Jeong
Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models
The Astronomical Journal
Late-type galaxies
Galaxy stellar content
title Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models
title_full Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models
title_fullStr Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models
title_full_unstemmed Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models
title_short Resolved Stellar Mass Estimation of Nearby Late-type Galaxies for the SPHEREx Era: Dependence on Stellar Population Synthesis Models
title_sort resolved stellar mass estimation of nearby late type galaxies for the spherex era dependence on stellar population synthesis models
topic Late-type galaxies
Galaxy stellar content
url https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-3881/adb285
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