Name:	Benford, Dominic
Email:	dominic.benford@nasa.gov
Institution:	NASA / GSFC
Title:	Mid-Infrared Properties of Extreme Starburst Galaxies as Observed by WISE
Topic:	Synergy with other surveys
Abstract:	We present a characterization of optically selected high star formation rate galaxies (the Multi-wavelength Extreme Starburst Sample: MESS), using data from WISE. The MESS contains 138 star-forming galaxies chosen from SDSS to have a high absolute star formation rate based on emission line strength diagnostics. All 138 of these galaxies were detected by WISE in each of its four bands. We compared the mid-infrared WISE fluxes and colors to visible data from the SDSS, far-infrared data from Spitzer, and UV data from GALEX, investigating relationships between reddening, luminosity, and star formation rates. Color-Color diagrams demonstrate that these galaxies correspond strongly with other starburst galaxies observed by WISE. For this sample of optically selected galaxies, we find that star formation rate increases with mid-infrared luminosity, but does not correlate well with ultraviolet luminosity.