EAGLE Spectroscopy of Resolved Stellar Populations Beyond the Local Group

Abstract

Valuable insights into galaxy evolution can be gleaned from studies of resolved stellar populations in the local Universe. Deep photometric surveys have provided tracers of the star-formation histories in galaxies from 0.8-16 Mpc, but without robust chemical abundances and stellar kinematics from spectroscopy, their sub-structures and assembly histories remain hidden from us. In this context, we introduce the EAGLE design study for a multi--integral-field-unit, near-infrared spectrograph for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT). EAGLE will exploit the unprecedented light-gathering power of the E-ELT to deliver AO-corrected spectroscopy across a large (38.5 sq. arcmin) field, truly revolutionising our view of stellar populations in the Local Volume.

6 pages, to appear in the proceedings of the AO4ELT conference, held in Paris, 22-26 June 2009