Circumnuclear Star Formation in the Spiral Galaxy NGC 3310

Abstract

The star-forming properties of the circumnuclear ring in the starburst spiral galaxy NGC 3310 have been studied in B, I, J, H, and K bands using images from KPNO and from the HST archives. The colors and magnitudes of the star-forming regions indicate ages less than 10 Myr and masses of 10⁴ to 10⁵ M_⊙ for the largest clumps. The luminosity distribution function of the diffuse circumnuclear clusters has a slope of about -2, which is typical of results both in circumnuclear rings and in the main disks of other galaxies. There are 17 candidate super star clusters (SSCs), primarily in the innermost southern spiral arm. The broad wavelength coverage allows a determination of reddening in the vicinity of the SSCs, which appears to be small. The locations of the SSCs in the circumnuclear ring and in an inner spiral are coincident with radio continuum and emission peaks, and may be the result of a suspected cannibalization of a dwarf galaxy in the last 10 Myr.