Feeding the Most Luminous Starbursts in the Local Universe

Details Feeding the Most Luminous Starbursts in the Local Universe Feeding the Most Luminous Starbursts in the Local Universe

Jan 2009

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2009aas...21334902s&link_type=abstract

American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #213, #349.02; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, Vol. 41, p.485

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Optical spectroscopy using the echellete spectrograph and imager (ESI) on Keck II are presented for four nearby major mergers of gas-rich galaxies. These spectra show strong A star features, indicating recent starburst activity. We find that the strength of the H beta absorption line increases with the projected distance from the center of the merger remnant. We interpret this H beta equivalent width as a measure of the time since star formation ceased, indicating older populations in the outer regions of the merger remnant. When compared to morphological age, the overall equivalent width in the extended regions increase, while nuclear equivalent widths remain low. We use a stellar population synthesis code to assign an age to the various regions. When compared to dynamical studies the age of the stellar population in the central region of the earliest object correspond well to the time since the nuclei passed pericenter. Examination of this parameter in more ULIRGs will allow us to better understand how mergers trigger gas inflow on kpc scales. Comprehension of these physical processes is needed to grasp gas consumption time scales, i.e. star burst duration locally and at high redshift. This project is supported by the GAANN fellowship and a grant from NSF at UCSB.

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