Speaker
Martin Roth
(Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP))
Description
We present first results from a study of resolved stellar
populations in the 2 Mpc distant sculptor group disk galaxy
NGC300 using integral field spectroscopy with MUSE. From
data cubes obtained under conditions of excellent seeing we
are able to extract on the order of 1500 stellar spectra per
pointing of 1.5 hours observing time, using the PampelMuse
code that has already revolutionized the spectroscopy of
globular cluster stars. Thanks to high throughput, excellent
image quality, and decent spatial sampling, we are able to
disentangle stellar spectra from nebular contamination in
environments of bright gaseous emission. We find rare
objects like WR stars, LBV candidates, and other blue
emission line stars. We detect normal and compact HII
regions, superbubbles, giant shells, planetary nebulae, and
SNRs down to limiting flux levels of a few 10e-18
erg/cm^2/s. We measure the diffuse ionized gas and find
spatial patterns in the ISM with hints of ancient supernova
explosions. We detect planetary nebulae 6 mag below the
bright cutoff of the PNLF as a potential new diagnostic for
intermediate age stellar populations. In summary, we argue
that MUSE has opened a new era for detailed studies of
resolved stellar populations in nearby galaxies with great
benefits for calibrating integrated light observations at
higher redshift.
Primary author
Martin Roth
(Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam (AIP))
