SIGNALS of Star Formation in Local Galaxies

Abstract

HII regions, clouds of ionized gas and dust created by massive stars within young stellar clusters, serve as fundamental laboratories for understanding star formation and galaxy evolution. By analyzing their ionized gas properties, we can trace the conditions that shape stare formation across different galactic environments. The Star-formation, Ionized Gas, and Nebular Abundances Legacy Survey (SIGNALS) is investigating these processes by studying more than 50,000 HII regions across 35 nearby galaxies at an average spatial resolution of 20 pc. SIGNALS utilizes the imaging Fourier transform spectrograph SITELLE at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope to observe strong emission lines—[OII]λ3727, Hβ, [OIII]λλ4959,5007, [NII]λλ6548,6584, Hα, and [SII]λλ6717,6731—allowing us to derive key physical properties of the ionized gas. In collaboration with the SIGNALS team, we are developing methods to systematically identify and analyze HII regions. In this presentation, I will highlight these techniques and showcase results for selected galaxies, including HII region populations, metallicity distributions, luminosity functions, and kinematic properties in diverse environments.

Ray Garner

TAMU Astronomy Postdoctoral Researcher

I’m a scientist, Star Wars fan, and amateur photographer raised in Georgia. My research interests include galaxy evolution, star formation, satellite galaxies, and nebular diagnostics.