Assigned ID: 476 ----- Attempting Submission 1 (Fri Mar 07 19:02:12 GMT 2008) ----- Observing the metallicity and star formation history of galaxies since the earliest times in the universe is crucial to understanding galaxy formation and evolution. The star formation history of galaxies has been studied extensively but our understanding of the chemical history of star-forming galaxies is lacking. STIS and COS will provide UV-optical spectra for thousands of star-forming galaxies. These spectra will include many emission and absorption lines suitable for chemical abundance analysis, but consistent UV-optical abundance diagnostics do not currently exist. We propose to exploit the recent major advances in theoretical stellar atmospheres, stellar population synthesis, and photoionization models to create the first consistent theoretical suite of UV-optical emission and absorption diagnostics for use with STIS (and where possible COS) spectra of HII regions, and star-forming galaxies. The model suite, IDL tools, and diagnostics that we develop will be useful for numerous applications and will be made available to the entire astronomical community on our Mappings On-Line website. In combination with STIS/COS spectroscopy, the abundance diagnostics that we develop will provide an in-depth understanding of the nucleogenic state of the Galaxy though C, N, and O. In addition, these diagnostics will pave the way for UV absorption and optical emission-line abundances to be used consistently in cosmic metallicity history research, for the first time.

ISM IN EXTERNAL GALAXIES 12 81687 false 0.0 0.0 false false true false false SUPPORTED