Metallicity Gradients of Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

Date

2022-06-28

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Abstract

Low Surface Brightness (LSB) spirals reveal a gap in the current understanding of galaxy evolution and the environments that drive star formation because, despite being gas-rich, they have not converted much of their gas into stars. Previous studies on the metallicity gradients of LSB spirals have produced conflicting results: some point to a slightly positive gradient, and other results indicate negative gradients similar to those of High Surface Brightness (HSB) spirals. In HSB spirals, the radially decreasing metallicity signifies an inside-out star formation history. By comparing LSB and HSB metallicity gradients, insight can be gained into the evolution of this paradoxical galaxy class. Using spatially resolved optical data, this thesis presents maps of metallicity and metallicity vs galactocentric distance plots in a sample of 6 LSB spirals. Ultimately, no gradients were found in the sample.

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Keywords

Astronomy, Observational Astronomy, Galaxies, Astrophysics, Metallicity

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