IFU Analysis of NGC1510: Balmer Maps, Common Spaxels, and Composite Spectrum

This repository contains a preliminary IFU-based analysis of the DGIS galaxy NGC1510, carried out as part of my research training on integral-field spectroscopy and galaxy evolution.

Project Background

Integral-field spectroscopy (IFS) allows us to obtain a full spectrum at each spatial position in a galaxy, making it possible to study spatially resolved emission-line properties, ionized gas structure, and internal physical variation.

This project is motivated by:

• the DGIS survey framework for nearby dwarf galaxies
• the use of IFU datacubes for spatially resolved analysis
• the multi-Balmer methodology discussed in Reddy et al. (2020)

Current Goal

After my second progress report, the next task assigned by my advisor was:

• identify the common reliable spaxels shared by Hα, Hβ, and Hγ
• construct a composite spectrum from those common spaxels
• plot the Balmer spectral panels for each selected spaxel

What I Have Completed

1. Datacube reading and wavelength-axis inspection

I read the NGC1510 IFU datacube and extracted the key data structures required for spectral analysis.

2. Emission-line flux maps

I generated 2D flux maps for several important emission lines, including:

• Hα
• Hβ
• Hγ
• Hδ
• Hη
• [OIII]5007
• [NII]6583

3. Central-spaxel identification

Using the Hα flux map, I located the brightest reliable Hα spaxel and used it as the central spaxel for spectral inspection.

4. Central-spaxel spectrum check

I plotted the observed spectrum, total fit, and continuum fit for the central spaxel to verify the quality of the emission-line fitting.

5. Common-spaxel selection for Hα/Hβ/Hγ

Following the logic of multi-Balmer analysis, I selected the spaxels that are simultaneously reliable in Hα, Hβ, and Hγ.

6. Composite spectrum and Balmer panels

For the shared spaxels, I completed the first-stage products:

• a composite spectrum constructed from the common sample
• Balmer spectral panels for individual selected spaxels

Repository Structure

ifu-ngc1510-balmer-analysis/
├── docs/      # reports and project notes
├── figures/   # maps, spectra, and selected Balmer panels
├── results/   # selected spaxel lists and stage summaries
├── src/       # notebooks and scripts