IMAGING SPECTROSCOPY OF THE STARBURSTS NGC 4945 AND IC342: DISENTANGLING STARFORMING REGIONS

we propose cam cvf spectral mapping of ngc4945 and ic342 in order to followup and complement our iso sws and phts studies of these starburst galaxies. active star formation in ngc4945 has been shown e.g. by the detection of the neii and ne iii lines at 12.8 and 15.5 micron. our current model for ngc4945 assumes a nucleus in a postburst phase surrounded by a starburst disk. the spectra of ngc4945 are also rich in prominent pah/dust features. comparable results are to be expected for ic342. however, due to the large aperture of the sws spectrometer it is not possible to disentangle the relative contributions from the burnedout nucleus and the surrounding starburst regions to the neon line emission. it is also impossible to judge where exactly the pah features, which are generally believed to be good starburst tracers, arise: in the starburst region itself or rather in photodissociation fronts at its outskirts. it is therefore crucial to obtain spatially resolved information using the cam lw cvf to cover the neii and neiii lines and many of the pah features with adequate s/n and spatial resolution. truncated!, Please see actual data for full text [truncated!, Please see actual data for full text]