Spatially and kinematically dissecting the properties of recombination nebulae in local starburst galaxies
The ISM of starburst galaxies is well known to contain a wide variety of physical
conditions and be kinematically complex. Yet, when describing it spectroscopically,
a single number is often relied on to characterize each physical property, derived
from data integrated over the entire slit. Here, we present a highly detailed spatial
and kinematic decomposition of 2D spectra of three starburst regions
in nearby Lyman Break Analogs Haro 11 and ESO 338. We identify and characterize
a number of physical subsystems in the projected area covered by each slit, and
perform a number of commonly used line ratio-based diagnostics on these, allowing
us to study e.g temperature, density, velocity gradients, element abundances,
shock vs. photoionization ratios etc. for individual subsystems. The high level of
detail lets us describe the variation underlying the properties typically reported for
unresolved objects and, often, even well resolved local objects. We also identify
subsystems and regions with particularly interesting behavior which in previous
studies have been drowned out by other components and thus gone unnoticed so
far.