the blue compact galaxies (bcgs) are playing an increasingly central role in understanding galaxy evolution. most likely their quiescent counterparts belong to one of the dominant constituents of the universe, some of which may have faded below the detection limits. due to their chemical homogeneity, low dust content and relative small sizes, the galaxies are comparatively easy to model. in addition they do not contain strong non thermal sources. this make them ideal targets for studying the starburst phenomenon and massive stellar evolution. bcgs also allow us to study the mechanisms involved in galaxy formation and early evolution, providing tools for understanding evolutionary processes at higher redshifts. we propose to observe xx bcgs for which we previously have obtained spectroscopy and broadband images in ubvri. for a subsample we also have images in jhk and observations in radio continuum and hi. we propose to obtain isocam sw3, sw6, lw2 and lw3 imaging and photometry in the 25, 60,100 and 180mu bands. we also propose to obtain lws spectra of 3 galaxies in the most prominent far-ir emission lines. the imaging and photometry will be used in conjunction with the optical/near-ir data to study the distri- bution of hot/warm dust in relation to the stellar population. the amount of dust and the contribution from different emission sources to the continuum will be studied. the spectroscopy will be used to analyze the distribution, density and temperature of the neutral gas associated with the molecular gas. the n/o will be derived for these regions, supplying information about the previous enrichment by massive stars. the upper mass limit will be traced from the [nii]/[niii] ratio and shocked gas will be revealed. the uniqueness of this project compared to related gtps: extremely luminous bcgs; in-house spectral evolutionary models; large, high-quality complementary uv/optical/near-ir/radio database.
Instrument
CAM01 , LWS02 , PHT03 , PHT22
Temporal Coverage
1996-09-29T06:55:47Z/1997-05-18T06:09:59Z
Version
1.0
Mission Description
The Infrared Space Observatory (ISO) was the world's first true orbiting infrared observatory. Equipped with four highly-sophisticated and versatile scientific instruments, it was launched by Ariane in November 1995 and provided astronomers world-wide with a facility of unprecedented sensitivity and capabilities for a detailed exploration of the Universe at infrared wavelengths.
