H-alpha Imaging Surveys of Galaxies: Star Formation Near and Far
Janice Lee (Carnegie Observatories)
H-alpha nebular emission is one of the most direct tracers
of star formation. As such, a great deal of our
current understanding of star formation in local galaxies
is based on a long and rich history of H-alpha observational
studies. However, there is a dearth of analogous work
in the intermediate redshift universe --- a critical period
in galaxy evolution where the overall star formation
activity reaches its maximum --- because the line is
shifted out of the optical window past z~0.4.
In this talk, I will highlight recent results from
H-alpha imaging surveys for galaxies, both near and far.
I will present studies of star formation based upon
an H-alpha imaging census of galaxies
in the local 11 Mpc volume, and describe the on-going
GALEX ultraviolet and Spitzer infrared Legacy programs
that have grown up around it. Moving into the more
distant Universe, I will introduce a new
campaign to extend deep, wide H-alpha narrowband galaxy surveys
to higher redshift (z~1-2) using the recently commissioned
NOAO Extremely Wide-Field Infrared Imager (NEWFIRM).
