We present the optical and near-infrared luminosity and mass functions of the local star-forming galaxies in the Universidad Complutense de Madrid ( UCM ) Survey .
A bivariate method that explicitly deals with the H \alpha selection of the survey is used when estimating these functions .
Total stellar masses have been calculated on a galaxy-by-galaxy basis taking into account differences in star formation histories .
The main difference between the luminosity distributions of the UCM sample and the luminosity functions of the local galaxy population is a lower normalization ( \phi ^ { * } ) , indicating a lower global volume density of UCM galaxies .
The typical near-infrared luminosity ( L ^ { * } ) of local star-forming galaxies is fainter than that of normal galaxies .
This is a direct consequence of the lower stellar masses of our objects .
However , at optical wavelengths ( B and r ) the luminosity enhancement arising from the young stars leads to M ^ { * } values that are similar to those of normal galaxies .
The fraction of the total optical and near infrared luminosity density in the local Universe associated with star-forming galaxies is 10–20 % .
Fitting the total stellar mass function using a Schechter parametrization we obtain \alpha = -1.15 \pm 0.15 , \log ( \mathcal { M } ^ { * } ) = 10.82 \pm 0.17 \mathcal { M } _ { \sun } and \log ( \phi ^ { * } ) = -3.04 \pm 0.20 Mpc ^ { -3 } .
This gives an integrated total stellar mass density of 10 ^ { 7.83 \pm 0.07 } \mathcal { M } _ { \sun } Mpc ^ { -3 } in local star-forming galaxies ( \mathrm { H } _ { 0 } = 70 km s ^ { -1 } Mpc ^ { -1 } , \Omega _ { \mathrm { M } } = 0.3 , \Lambda = 0.7 ) .
The volume-averaged burst strength of the UCM galaxies is b = 0.04 \pm 0.01 , defined as the ratio of the mass density of stars formed in recent bursts ( age < 10 Myr ) to the total stellar mass density in UCM galaxies .
Finally , we derive that , in the local Universe , ( 13 \pm 3 ) % of the total baryon mass density in the form of stars is associated with star-forming galaxies .