  We present the results of a multiwavelength study of nearby galaxies, aimed
at understanding the relation between the ultraviolet and far-infrared emission
in star-forming galaxies. The dataset comprises new ultraviolet (from
HST/STIS), ground-based Halpha, and radio continuum observations, together with
archival infrared data (from IRAS and ISO). The local galaxies are used as
benchmarks for comparison of the infrared-to-ultraviolet properties with two
populations of high-redshift galaxies: the sub-millimeter star-forming galaxies
detected by SCUBA and the ultraviolet-selected Lyman Break galaxies. In
addition, the long wavelength baseline covered by the present data enables us
to compare the star formation rates (SFRs) derived from the observed
ultraviolet, Halpha, infrared, and radio luminosities, and to gauge the impact
of dust opacity in the local galaxies. We also derive a new calibration for the
non-thermal part of the radio SFR estimator, based on the comparison of 1.4 GHz
measurements with a new estimator of the bolometric luminosity of the star
forming regions. We find that more actively star forming galaxies show higher
dust opacities, in line with previous results. We find that the local
star-forming galaxies have lower F(205um)/F(UV) ratio, by two-three orders of
magnitude than the submillimeter-selected galaxies, and may have similar or
somewhat higher F(205um)/F(UV) than Lyman Break Galaxies. The F(205um)/F(UV)
ratio of the local galaxy population may be influenced by the cool dust
emission in the far-infrared heated by non-ionizing stellar populations, which
may be reduced or absent in the LBGs.
