A study of star formation in the disks of Sa galaxies

This paper compares the luminosity functions of the H II regions in several Sa galaxies with those of later-type galaxies. Broad UV measurements confirm expectations that the knots associated with the regions are very blue; the converse is also true. The H II region luminosity functions are very steep. The total H-alpha luminosities for the galaxies are computed and used to derive the current star-formation rates. It is found that, in contrast to the late-type galaxies, the current star-formation rates in Sa disks are less than one-tenth of the average rate over the last 15 Gyr. The formal depletion times of gas through star formation are longer than a Hubble time. If the star formation in late-type galaxies takes on the character of that currently seen in the Sas, star formation in such galaxies could continue for much longer than the usual estimate of 5 Gyr. 35 refs