A new paper on using H-alpha, H-beta, and Br-gamma as age indicators in star forming galaxies is now in press with ApJ. We’ve examined how parameters such as rotation and treatments of the IMF and star formation history affect these lines’ equivalent widths and their evolution with time; the effects of these assumptions can be quite dramatic!. H-beta in particular is a commonly used gauge of age in young star-forming galaxies, and understanding these effects is very important when we’re trying to study galaxies, their environments, and their massive star populations. Read the paper here!
