Vol. 592
In section 1. Letters

The faint end of the 250 micron luminosity function at z < 0.5

by L. Wang, P. Norberg, M. Bethermin, et al. A&A 592, L5


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The far-infrared luminosity of galaxies comes from the emission of dust heated by star formation, and its redshift evolution gives insight in the history of cosmic star formation. This work determines the 250 micron luminosity function (LF) up to z=0.5 with a stacking method, which allows us to go deeper than previous studies by a factor 25. The LF follows a Schechter function, with a break at L* that varyies strongly with redshift, (1+z)^4.89, and a density evolution that varies mildly, (1+z)^−1.