Speaker
Description
I study the early evolution of star-forming regions and stellar clusters in the nearby galaxy NGC 1433 using JWST Paschen-α imaging combined with HST, PHANGS-MUSE, and cluster catalogs. I constructed a homogeneous Paα source catalog and matched each region to nebular Hα emission and young stellar clusters. Using physically calibrated PHANGS Hα fluxes, I derived reliable Paα/Hα ratios to measure nebular extinction and study how dust attenuation varies with region structure and environment. I also quantified the morphology of ionized gas using concentration indices and examined the evolution of Paα equivalent width with cluster age. The results show that Paα provides a clean tracer of embedded star formation and reveals systematic differences between gas, stars, and environments in the earliest phases of cluster evolution
