Resolved SED fitting with Prospector

The differential assembly of the inner and outer regions of main-sequence galaxies

The formation of the central parts of “typical” star-forming galaxies is an open question in astronomy. To investigate this, we present a sample of 60 z~2.3 main-sequence galaxies from the MOSFIRE Deep Evolution Field (MOSDEF) spectroscopic survey. Using the Prospector code with strong metallicity priors from MOSDEF spectra, we fit SEDs to resolved central and outer components, using a novel iterative method to robustly incorporate unresolved Spitzer/IRAC and K-band data. This technique allows us to get well-constrained, non-parametric star formation histories for the central and outer regions of these typical main-sequence galaxies (see the figure above), which provides insight into the overall assembly of star-forming galaxies.

Sam E. Cutler
Sam E. Cutler
Astronomy Ph.D. Student

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