Stellar Populations in Elliptical Galaxies

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Computer equipment will be purchased. The system will be used primarily in the continued study of the stellar populations in elliptical galaxies. The comprehensive project will be carried out on three fronts. The first is a differential study, intercomparing a large number of normal ellipticals using a variety of methods to search for and analyze the differences found, if any, between galaxies. The techniques used will be based on principal component analysis and related statistical methods, plus a differential analysis developed in a previous study of spherical (SO) galaxies. A more traditional approach to the study of stellar populations in galaxies is ordinary spectral synthesis. This approach will also be used to investigate the content of elliptical galaxies, but improved by a better stellar library, greater wavelength coverage, and a larger sample size than used by previous investigations. Finally, the problem of the evolution of ellipticals over the lifetime of the Universe will be addressed using the differential approach employed above. Spectra of high redshift, red, and radio-quiet elliptical galaxies will be analyzed differently with respect to present epoch objects, to determine the extent and magnitude of any evolution that has occurred.