On the Influence of the Environment in the Star Formation Rates of a Sample of Galaxies in Nearby Compact Groups

Abstract

We present the results of the study of the Star Formation Rates (SFRs) of a sample of disk galaxies in nearby compact groups compared with the SFRs of a sample of field galaxies. For this purpose, H$α$ luminosities and equivalent widths were derived for the galaxies of our sample. A direct comparison of the equivalent widths and H$α$ luminosities normalized to the $B$ luminosities and estimated area of the galaxies of both samples yielded the result that the median values of these quantities were almost identical for both samples, although the distributions for the compact group sample were broadened around the mean value with respect to the field galaxy sample. This result can be explained assuming that though interactions between galaxies in compact groups can alter their SFRs, the median value of the normalized SFRs is preserved, being almost indistinguishable from the corresponding value for field galaxies.