Studying the ionization mechanism in a nearby starburst galaxy

Project Description:

One of the questions in galaxy evolution that remains under investigation is why, in some galaxies, star formation is quenched but in others it continues or is even enhanced. Processes such as active galactic nucleus (AGN) and star-formation feedback could possibly remove gas from the galaxy or heat the existing gas, resulting in the quenching of star formation (Somerville & Davé, 2015; Morganti, 2017). Understanding the dominant ionization mechanism in a galaxy can provide valuable information about the ultimate fate of the galaxy, as well as galaxy evolution as a whole. Nearby starburst galaxies provide extreme, nearby environments to study these processes with resolved observations. In many studies, the integrated properties of the galaxies are studied, however the ionization mechanism can be different across the galaxy. The integrated properties allow us to differentiate between AGN-dominated galaxies and star-formation-dominated galaxies; however, for example, an AGN might be dominant in the nucleus and star formation in the spiral arms. This can only be differentiated by using resolved observations. The aim would be to study one nearby starburst galaxy with integral field unit (IFU) data from SALT or with archival data from MUSE to understand the ionization mechanism in the galaxy. This will require modelling of the emission lines to calculate the ratios needed for the BPT diagram. The exact galaxy will be chosen with the student based on the availability of data. Please refer to the attached pdf for a more detailed explanation.

Research Area:

Astronomy

Project Level:

Honours

This Project Is Offered At The Following Node(s):

(UCT)

Special Requirements:

Basic Python skills are required. Knowledge of fitting emission/absorption lines is beneficial but not required.