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[115.05] Revealing the Young Starburst in Haro 3 with Radio and Infrared Imaging

K.E. Johnson, R. Indebetouw, C. Watson (U. Wisconsin), H.A. Kobulnicky (U. Wyoming)

Observations in the near-IR to radio regimes are critical for studying the earliest stages of starbursts due to the substantial obscuration associated with the star formation phenomenon. In order to see into the natal material, we observed the Wolf-Rayet galaxy Haro 3 (Mrk~35, NGC~3353) in the near-IR and radio regimes. These observations confirm that the current episode of star formation is dominated by a single region with an age of ~0.1 - 5~Myr. A comparison with observations from HST indicates that one or more of the young star clusters are optically obscured. The star cluster that appears to be the youngest also exhibits a near-IR excess in its colors, possibly indicating natal dust in very close proximity to the ionizing stars. The difference between optical- and radio-determined ionizing fluxes as well as the near-IR colors indicate an average extinction value of A_V \approx 2.5 in the starburst region, although the extinction must reach significantly higher values in certain locations. The total stellar mass associated with the current starburst knots is inferred from both the near-IR and radio observations to be ~10⁶ M_\odot, consistent with young massive clusters observed in other galaxies.

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Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society, 35#5
© 2003. The American Astronomical Soceity.