Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies

Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade. Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models, and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies, such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Residual stresses in a quenched superalloy turbine disc: measurements and modeling

A series of neutron diffraction measurements have been carried out to determine the elastic residual strains deep within a large, 40-cm-diameter, forged and water-quenched IN718 aeroengine compressor disc. Neutron path lengths of up to 6 cm were necessary to probe the thickest parts of the forging, and three-dimensional strain and stress components have been derived for the first time in such a large superalloy specimen. Measurements have been compared with the results from a coupled thermal-mechanical finite-element model of the quenching process, based upon appropriate temperature-dependent material properties, with some success. The general residual stress state in the disc is one of near-surface compression, balanced by tension within the disc interior. The steepest stress and strain gradients occur in the transition region from compression to tension, about 1 cm below the surface all around the disc. The largest stress component is in the disc tangential direction and reaches a magnitude of 400 to 500 MPa near the disc surface and at its core. This exceeds the effective yield stress because of the presence of significant hydrostatic stress