| I have developed techniques to utilize the deep sharp 2.3 {dollar}mu{dollar}m CO stellar absorption bandhead to measure stellar kinematics in galaxies. The motivation for this stems from the high optical obscuration often found in starforming galaxies, which can be partially circumvented by moving the observations into the low extinction regime of the near-infrared. The choice of the CO bandhead comes from its shape, as it sharp bandedge is very sensitive to motions of the stars, and its depth, as it is as deep as all other non-CO absorption features in the 2-2.3 {dollar}mu{dollar}m wavelength range. Thus, spectra with moderate signal-to-noise can be used to determine stellar kinematics in the near-infrared. I present two techniques for measuring kinematics with this molecular bandhead.; Using these techniques, I have studied two such galaxies, M82 and NGC 6240. In M82, a small nearby starburst galaxy, I have spatially resolved both the ionized and shock gas kinematics as well as the stellar kinematics, revealing a complex system containing old stars, young stars, and gas which may become new stars. Unlike previous studies of this system, I have shown in the central {dollar}r < 30spprimespprime{dollar} the older underlying bulge contributes {dollar}approx{dollar}1/5 of the total K luminosity, and must be accounted for when modeling the star formation. In NGC 6240, I have measured the stellar kinematics. In this more distant and more luminous system, the situation is even more extreme, with the K-light being dominated solely by the old bulge population. By studying these two galaxies that bracket the range of luminosities found in starbursting sources, I have shown that, at least in these sources, one must have an understanding of the kinematics of these galaxies in order to accurately determine how important the old stellar population is to their near-infrared luminosity. This ratio of old to young stars is curtail to modeling the star formation in these systems. |
