Related papers: Local Starbursts: Perspectives from the Optical
The emission-line spectrum of an H II region essentially reflects the shape of the EUV spectral energy distribution of the OB stars that ionize the gas. In principle one can use this spectrum to extract information about the age of the…
In systems undergoing starbursts the evolution of the young stellar population is expected to drive changes in the emission line properties. This evolution is usually studied theoretically, with a combination of evolutionary synthesis…
Star forming galaxies at high redshift show ubiquitously high ionization parameters, as measured by the ratio of optical emission lines. We demonstrate that local (z < 0.2) sources selected as Lyman break analogues also manifest high line…
This paper reviews the theoretical modelling of starburst galaxies with particular emphasis on the importance of the gas-phase physics in determining the form of the continuum SED and the emission line spectrum. Both line and continuum…
Observations at long wavelengths, in the wide interval from a few to 1000 micron, are essential to study diffuse media in galaxies, including all kinds of atomic, ionic and molecular gases and dust grains. Hence they are particularly suited…
Understanding the infrared emission of galaxies is critical to observational and theoretical investigations of the condensation of galaxies out of the intergalactic medium and the conversion of gas into stars over cosmic time. From an…
The two major functions in galaxy evolution that we would like to measure are the stellar populations in galaxies, and their time-derivative, the star formation rate. Especially at redshifts above 1, both of these measures are benefiting…
The closest examples of high-mass star birth occurs in deeply embedded environments at kiloparsec distances. Although much progress has been made, an observationally validated picture of the dominant processes which allows the central…
We study the ionization structure of galactic outflows in 37 nearby, star forming galaxies with the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph on the Hubble Space Telescope. We use the O I, Si II, Si III, and Si IV ultraviolet absorption lines to…
Local starbursts have a higher efficiency of converting gas into stars, as compared to typical star-forming galaxies at a given stellar mass, possibly indicative of different modes of star formation. With the peak epoch of galaxy formation…
Through the study of two absorption spectral features in the optical range (Mg2 and the 4000 A break), we find evidence for star formation in the inner regions of cooling-flow galaxies. The application of simple stellar population models…
The measurement of the Star Formation Rate density of the Universe is of prime importance in understanding the formation and evolution of galaxies. The [OII]3727 emission line flux, easy to measure up to z~1.4 within deep redshift surveys…
Imaging the bright maser emission produced by several molecular species at centimeter wavelengths is an essential tool for understanding the process of massive star formation because it provides a way to probe the kinematics of dense…
There has been remarkable progress recently in both observational and theoretical studies of galaxy formation and evolution. Largely due to a combination of deep Hubble Space Telescope imaging, Keck spectroscopy, and COBE far-IR background…
The brightest observed emission line in many star-forming galaxies is the [CII] 158 micron line, making it detectable up to z~7. In order to better understand and quantify the [CII] emission as a tracer of star-formation, the theoretical…
Extensive grids of photoionization models have been calculated for single star HII regions and evolving starbursts. We illustrate the predictions for IR fine structure lines which are used to analyse the stellar content, and derive…
Models are presented for CO rotational line emission by high redshift starburst galaxies. The influence of the cosmic microwave background on the thermal balance and the level populations of atomic and molecular species is explicitly…
An important property of star-forming galaxies at z~1-2 is the high local star-formation intensities they maintain over tens of kiloparsecs at levels that are only observed in the nearby Universe in the most powerful nuclear starbursts. To…
Observations of the high redshift Universe, interpreted in the context of a new generation of computer simulated model Universes, are providing new insights into the processes by which galaxies and quasars form and evolve, as well as the…
The fate of ionizing radiation is vital for understanding cosmic ionization, energy budgets in the interstellar and intergalactic medium, and star formation rate indicators. The low observed escape fractions of ionizing radiation have not…