Other
Scientific paper
Jun 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005sptz.prop20198t&link_type=abstract
Spitzer Proposal ID #20198
Other
Scientific paper
We believe that the upper mass end of the IMF in extragalactic starbursts has not yet been measured. It is crucial to know the population of the most massive stars; they are the most energetic and provide pressure, metals, winds and radiation tothe host galaxy. In most cases they cannot be observed directly, only through the infrared and radio nebulae they excite. The middle-infrared ionic emission lines can probe the nebulae and find the stellar types, but the validity of the results depends on the spatial structure of the starburst and the resolution of the observations. We have obtained infrared and radio images and spectra, with sub-arcsecond resolution, of a sample of 19 galaxies that contain very compact star formation sources. These sources are excited by embedded star clusters which are very young, contain thousands of O stars, and are the best place to look for the most massive stars. There are infrared spectra of these galaxies including all the ionic emission lines in the SPITZER archive, from which we can form the line ratios used to calculate the types of the exciting stars, but the emission from the compact sources must be distinguished from other components or their effects will be diluted and the massive stars will not be detected. We propose to use our high-resolution information to model the contributions of the different components off the starburst, and to use the IRS results and these models to find the stellar types. With these data, and the excellent libraries of stellar atmospheres and photoionization now available, we may finally be able to see the most massive stars in starbursts.
Beck Sara
Turner Jonathan
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