Star Clusters and the Duration of Starbursts

Abstract

The duration of starbursts is important for determining how they are regulated and the impact they have on their environment. Starbursts contain numerous prominent star clusters which typically comprise in total ~20% of the ultraviolet light, embedded in a diffuse glow of recently formed stars responsible for the dominant ~80%. Hubble Space Telescope images have been obtained for four starburst galaxies in order to determine their burst duration from the ages of their star clusters. Preliminary results for NGC3310 are reported here. The UBI colors of its clusters and diffuse light give consistent results. The clusters have a broad range of colors, consistent with a population of instantaneous bursts with ages ranging from 0 to a few 100 Myr. The diffuse light has a narrow range of color consistent with continuous star formation over timescales ranging from ~ 10 to 100 Myr. Hence NGC3310's starburst has lasted ~100 Myr, or about 10 times the crossing time. Other results noted in the literature also indicate bursts lasting several times longer than the crossing time. These results suggest that starbursts are not self-extinguishing flashes. Rather they are sustainable, perhaps self-regulated.