A Statistical and Multi-wavelength Approach to Studying Star Formation Histories in Nearby Galaxies

Download or read book A Statistical and Multi-wavelength Approach to Studying Star Formation Histories in Nearby Galaxies written by Madison V. Smith and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: I present the results of a multi-wavelength study of global, radial and local star formation histories (SFHs) in a statistical sample of 34 nearby galaxies. The SFHs are estimated using spectral energy distribution (SED) fitting, and are presented alongside classic indicators of changes in stellar population ages (optical colors, specific star formation rates, and H-alpha equivalent widths). I interpret the results of this methodology in the context of the literature for each galaxy. In addition to the global and radial measurements, ultraviolet-selected sources in each galaxy are detected and cataloged. I use two different methods (k-means clustering and two-point angular correlation functions) to describe the spatial distributions of these UV sources. I find that there is a connection between the clustering of UV sources in M63 and the presence of spiral arms. The less-clustered distributions of UV sources seen in galaxies without spiral arms suggests that the spiral arms help to cluster star formation in the stellar disk. Finally, I find that there is a detectable radial gradient in the age of the younger stellar population when looking at the full catalog of all UV sources. This result agrees with the leading theory for structure formation in the universe, the Lambda-CDM model, which theorizes that galaxies form and evolve "inside-out".