Physics
Scientific paper
Aug 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000noao.prop..173h&link_type=abstract
NOAO Proposal ID #2000B-0173
Physics
Scientific paper
Using the WIYN 3.5-m telescope on KPNO we have identified several candidate star-forming regions at distances 0.6 < z < 2.7 kpc from the midplane of the nearby edge-on spiral NGC 891. These regions were identified as unresolved Hα sources in our WIYN images; all show faint, blue continuum emission (B~22 to 23; B-V ~ -0.1 to - 0.2; M_B ~ -7.5). The existence of such regions far above the thin disk of population I objects may be evidence for a new mode of star formation in the thick disks of spiral galaxies. We propose to use the KPNO 4-m RC-spectrograph to observe the gaseous emission line spectra from these candidate H II regions. The proposed observations will allow us to confirm the identification of these objects as H II regions and to accurately determine the Lyman continuum output of the underlying stellar populations, a necessary step in determining the nature of the underlying stars. We will also estimate the metallicity of these ionized nebulae. The derived abundances will answer fundamental questions regarding the origin of the nebulae and the dense clouds of interstellar material seen in the thick disk of NGC 891. These abundance measurements will be the first of any high-z (thick disk) material in a spiral galaxy beyond the Milky Way, and they will provide important constraints on the circulation of gas between the thin disks and halos of star forming galaxies.
Howk Jay Christopher
Savage Blair. D.
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