Wolf-Rayet galaxies as probes of young stellar systems

Abstract

Wolf-Rayet (WR) galaxies provide detailed information on massive star populations in starbursts and thereby represent ideal objects to determine accurate ages for young systems, to measure the burst duration, and to probe the upper end of the IMF. WR galaxies play also a particular role in a variety of studies on star formation in Seyfert2/LINERS, dust production and local chemical enrichment, temperature fluctuations in HII regions, gaz outflows and X-ray emission etc. Different age indicators for young starbursts and WR galaxies are discussed. We summarise recent work on the burst properties of WR galaxies, massive star populations at different metallicities, and the use of WR galaxies as benchmarks for multi-wavelength models of starbursts and photoionisation models including IR fine structure lines.