Formation and Evolution of Dusty Starburst Galaxies. I. A New Method for Deriving a Spectral Energy Distribution

Abstract

We present a new numerical code that is designed to derive a spectral energy distribution (SED) for an arbitrary spatial distribution of stellar and gaseous components in a dusty starburst galaxy. We apply a ray-tracing method to numerical simulations and thereby estimate extinction and reemission of stellar light by dusty gas in an explicitly self-consistent manner. By using this code, we can investigate simultaneously dynamical and photometric evolution of a dusty galaxy based on stellar and gaseous dynamical simulations. As an example, we demonstrate when and how a major galaxy merger with dusty starburst becomes an ultraluminous infrared galaxy owing to strong internal dust extinction. We furthermore discuss advantages and disadvantages of the present new code in clarifying the nature and the origin of low- and high-redshift dusty starburst galaxies.