The dust attenuation for a sample of \sim 10000 local ( z \lesssim 0.1 ) star forming galaxies is constrained as a function of their physical properties .
We utilize aperture-matched multi-wavelength data available from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer ( GALEX ) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey ( SDSS ) to ensure that regions of comparable size in each galaxy are being analyzed .
We follow the method of Calzetti et al .
( 13 ) and characterize the dust attenuation through the UV power-law index , \beta , and the dust optical depth , which is quantified using the difference in Balmer emission line optical depth , \tau _ { B } ^ { l } = \tau _ { \mathrm { H } \beta } - \tau _ { \mathrm { H } \alpha } .
The observed linear relationship between \beta and \tau _ { B } ^ { l } is similar to the local starburst relation , but the large scatter ( \sigma _ { \mathrm { int } } = 0.44 ) suggests there is significant variation in the local Universe .
We derive a selective attenuation curve over the range 1250 \mathrm { \AA } < \lambda < 8320 \mathrm { \AA } and find that a single attenuation curve is effective for characterizing the majority of galaxies in our sample .
This curve has a slightly lower selective attenuation in the UV compared to previously determined curves .
We do not see evidence to suggest that a 2175 Å feature is significant in the average attenuation curve .
Significant positive correlations are seen between the amount of UV and optical reddening and galaxy metallicity , mass , star formation rate ( SFR ) , and SFR surface density .
This provides a potential tool for gauging attenuation where the stellar population is unresolved , such as at high- z .