Far-infrared activity and starburst galaxies

After the IRAS discovery of galaxies with large far-infrared to blue luminosity ratio, it has been proposed that an enhanced star formation could be the origin of the far-infrared emission through dust heating. Whether a simple photometric model is able to account for the FIR and optical properties of IRAS galaxies was investigated. The L sub IR/L sub B ratio, (B-V) color and H sub alpha equivalent width of normal spirals are well reproduced with smooth star formation histories. In the case of starburst galaxies, several theoretical diagrams allow us to estimate the burst strength and extinction. L sub IR/L sub B ratio up to 100 can be rather easily reached, whereas extreme values probably require IMF truncated at the low end.