The Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) project at the 305m Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico is a cutting-edge neutral hydrogen (HI) survey using the new seven-beam detector, the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA), which will map approximately 17% of the entire sky. The current project will obtain images in ionized hydrogen (H-alpha) light, as well as follow-up spectroscopy, to exploit the unprecedented samples of gas-rich dwarf galaxies and low-surface-brightness galaxies which will be found by the ALFALFA survey. These samples are expected to be significantly more complete and less biased than those produced by more traditional surveys. This research will determine the star formation rate density in the local universe, and obtain accurate nebular abundances in order to investigate how chemical evolution proceeds in galaxies of different types. The spectroscopic study includes a search for possibly young galaxies with no old stellar population.
The data produced by ALFALFA and the follow-up optical observations will be made available to all members of the astronomical community on a short timescale, thus maximizing the potential scientific return. The project will also serve as the centerpiece of the Principal Investigator's active and successful program of involving students, particularly from under-represented groups, in meaningful research.
