Abstract
We investigate the burstiness of star formation histories (SFHs) of galaxies
at $0.4<z<1$ by using the ratio of star formation rates (SFRs) measured from
FUV (1500 \AA) and H$\beta$ (FUV--to--H$\beta$ ratio). Our sample contains 164
galaxies down to stellar mass (M*) of $10^8.5 M_ødot$ in the CANDELS GOODS-N
region, where TKRS Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy and HST/WFC3 F275W images from
CANDELS and HDUV are available. When the ratio of FUV- and H$\beta$-derived
SFRs is measured, dust extinction correction is negligible (except for very
dusty galaxies) with the Calzetti attenuation curve. The FUV--to--H$\beta$
ratio of our sample increases with the decrease of M* and SFR. The median ratio
is $\sim$1 at M* $10^10 M_ødot$ (or SFR = 20 $M_ødot$/yr) and
increases to $\sim$1.6 at M* $10^8.5 M_ødot$ (or SFR $0.5
M_ødot$/yr). At M* $< 10^9.5 M_ødot$, our median FUV--to--H$\beta$ ratio is
higher than that of local galaxies at the same M*, implying a redshift
evolution. Bursty SFH on a timescale of $\sim$10 Myr on galactic scales
provides a plausible explanation of our results, and the importance of the
burstiness increases as M* decreases. Due to sample selection effects, our
FUV--to--H$\beta$ ratio may be a lower limit of the true value of a complete
sample, which strengthens our conclusions. Other models, e.g., non-universal
initial mass function or stochastic star formation on star cluster scales, are
unable to plausibly explain our results.
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