The SkyMapper View of Red Spirals
Christian Wolf (Mt Stromlo Observatory, ANU Canberra)
In the integrated light of stellar populations the Balmer break at 365 nm is driven by recent change in star formation rate, while it is virtually insensitive to actual star formation level and the mean age of the stellar population. The SkyMapper filter set contains two u-filters ('u' and 'v'), which bracket this break. The SkyMapper Survey will thus obtain a half-sky Balmer break image and map where in nearby galaxies star formation is increasing or decreasing, whatever the current level. Deeper exposures on groups and clusters that harbour many red spirals will provide a more in-depth view of the role of environmental factors.
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