H-alpha Snapshots of Nearby Galaxies observed in F300W: Quantifying Star Formation in a Dusty Universe

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics

Scientific paper

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Hst Proposal Id #9892 Galaxies

Scientific paper

Previous studies of nearby galaxies show large discrepancies between different star formation {SF} indicators on large {>100 pc, or even global} scales: the strikingly complex interplay of young stars, dust and ionized gas are the primary cause of this variance. The few galaxies in the HST Archive with both WFPC2 H-alpha and mid-UV {F255W or F300W} imaging show this complex geometry extending down to <10 pc scales. We propose a SNAPshot survey in the ACS/WFC H-alpha filter of 48 galaxies of all Hubble types, that are nearby but beyond the Local Group, and that were previously imaged with WFPC2 in the mid-UV and in F814W. We aim to provide a benchmark for understanding the SF processes in both normal and star-bursting galaxies, at spatial resolutions unattainable from the ground for a large and varied galaxy sample. These data can be applied to a wide range of astrophysical problems and will, therefore, be made public immediately. Our science goals are to: {1} spatially resolve the dust clouds and filaments which strongly affect mid-UV and H-alpha derived SF rates, {2} test how the large-scale correlation between H-alpha and mid-UV flux breaks down on pc scales, and {3} model the propagation of star formation by comparing the SF over time scales of 100 Myr {via mid-UV} and 5 Myr {via H-alpha}. This will {4} significantly improve our insight into, and calibration of SF in UV-bright galaxies at high z, and into the cosmic SF history.

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