Abstract details

We present first results of a long-term study of the large-scale stellar population and evolutionary properties of nearby spiral galaxies. We have acquired deep Gemini/GMOS longslit spectra for 8 nearby spiral galaxies and have measured line indices and velocity dispersions in the bulge and inner disk. The line indices are compared with stellar population models to characterize the luminosity-weighted ages and metal abundances in star-forming galaxies and place constraints on basic formation scenarios of spiral bulges. Full spectral synthesis of the spectra are also performed and the resulting ages and metallicities are compared with those derived from the line-index method to highlight possible shortcomings inherent in the different techniques. These results are part of a long-term study of radially resolved stellar populations in local spiral galaxies to provide a fundamental data base for the study of star formation histories of present-epoch star-forming galaxies.