Florida
Space Grant Consortium
Mail Stop: FSGC
Center for Space Education Bldg. M6-306,
Room 7010 Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899
Tel # (321) 452-4301
Fax # (321) 449-0739
Email: fsgc@mail.ucf.edu
Recently, there have been numerous detections
of very distant galaxies at a redshift of approximately three
using the Lyman break technique (Steidel et al 1993). We propose
to conduct the first comprehensive study of the physical properties
of these Lyman break galaxies by using near infrared spectroscopy
to obtain their star formation rate, velocity dispersions,
rotational velocities, and chemical abundances. We will use
velocity dispersions to calculate directly the virial masses
of the galaxies. Ultimately, we will compare our observations
with existing observations and galaxy formation models to
determine the nature of Lyman break galaxies. The study of
these high redshift galaxies is crucial in our effors to better
understand galaxy formation and evolution.