The modelling described here can be improved in a number of ways, before fully reliable SEDs of starburst galaxies can be obtained. In rough order of urgency:
To perform the full radiative transfer and scattering calculations for the turbulent foreground screen of diffuse matter in order to correctly model the UV and the ratio of the UV to far-IR flux.
To correctly compute the SEDs of ultra-compact HII regions around isolated OB stars, since these are likely to form a greater fraction of the HII region population in high-pressure regions of the ISM.
To understand the process of the escape of stars from cluster environments into the general ISM. item To properly understand the life-cycle of PAHs in the ISM through both advances in theory, and through modelling the SEDs of individual star formation regions in nearby galaxies observed with Spitzer.
To quantify the X-ray emission mechanisms to allow star formation rates derived from X-rays to be properly calibrated.
Acknowledgments
M. Dopita acknowledges the support of both the Australian National University and of the Australian Research Council (ARC) through his ARC Australian Federation Fellowship, and through the ARC Discovery project grant DP0208445.