The Ultraviolet Galaxy Luminosity Function in the Local Universe from GALEX Data

Abstract

We present the results of a determination of the galaxy luminosity function at ultraviolet wavelengths at redshifts of z = 0.0-0.1 from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) data. We determined the luminosity function in the GALEX far-UV and near-UV bands from a sample of galaxies with UV magnitudes between 17 and 20 that are drawn from a total of 56.73 deg2 of GALEX fields overlapping the bJ-selected Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey. The resulting luminosity functions are fainter than previous UV estimates and result in total UV luminosity densities of 10 25.55±0.12 and 1025.72±0.12 ergs s -1 Hz-1 Mpc-3 at 1530 and 2310 Å, respectively. This corresponds to a local star formation rate density in agreement with previous estimates made with Hα-selected data for reasonable assumptions about the UV extinction.