The following document lists the file abstract/CXU_CXU_SS01.abs
from catalogue VI/111.
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It is well established that enhanced star formation (starbursts) can be induced by galaxy-galaxy interactions. One manifestation of this activity is enhancement of the IR emission from such pairs. Galaxy mergers and closely interacting pairs often show large increases in IR/optical emission. While the phenomenon of starburst enhancement is well established, the details are not at all clear (both components? nuclear and/or disk enhancement?). IRAS was incapable of unambiguously answering these questions while ground based (and KAO) observations suffer from low sensitivity. The most serious current deficit is our lack of a clear physical understanding of the physical mechanism(s) for starburst enhancement. We propose to learn more about the enhancement process by observing a sample of pairs that are typical of the ones showing the strongest star formation enhancement. The outstanding sensitivity and much improved angular resolution of ISO offer a unique opportunity to resolve the details of the phenomenon and to gain an insight into the physics of the process. Our sample involves close spiral pairs with overlapping (most appear to be colliding) disks (10 autumn or 11 spring launch). The proposed observations of MIR/FIR emission and color ratios will provide strong constraints on models for the time evolution and spatial distribution of interaction induced star formation. The ISO data will be combined with observations obtained by our team at other wavelengths.