The ultraviolet galaxy luminosity function in the local universe from GALEX data

We present the results of a determination of the galaxy luminosity function at ultraviolet wavelengths at redshifts of z = 0.0-0.1 from Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) data. We determined the luminosity function in the GALEX far-UV and near-UV bands from a sample of galaxies with UV magnitudes between 17 and 20 that are drawn from a total of 56.73 deg(2) of GALEX fields overlapping the b(J)-selected Two-Degree Field Galaxy Redshift Survey. The resulting luminosity functions are fainter than previous UV estimates and result in total UV luminosity densities of 10(25.55+/-0.12) and 10(25.72+/-0.12) ergs s(-1) Hz(-1) Mpc(-3) at 1530 and 2310 Angstrom, respectively. This corresponds to a local star formation rate density in agreement with previous estimates made with Halpha-selected data for reasonable assumptions about the UV extinction.