We have studied the kinematic properties of the ionized gas outflows and ambient interstellar medium (ISM) in a large and representative sample of local U/LIRGs (58 systems, 75 galaxies) at galactic and sub-galactic (i.e.,star-forming clumps) scales, thanks to integral field spectroscopy (IFS)-based high signal-to-noise integrated spectra. The main results have been recently presented in Arribas et al. (2014), and are briefly summarized here.

Using integral field spectroscopy, we detected the broad features of massive Wolf-Rayet stars in the core of three Seyfert galaxies. The observed high value of the WR/O number ratio is a clear signature of a young and powerful starburst. The star-forming regions are distributed in an arc/ring-like structure around the AGN, at a distance of about 200 pc. These are the first spatially-resolved detections of massive starbursts so close of an AGN.

We have obtained two-dimensional spectroscopy of the central ∼10″ × 12″ of the Wolf-Rayet galaxy NGC 4861. We have carried out a preliminary analysis of the data, deriving continua at different wavelengths, and emission-line intensity maps (HeI λ4471, HeII λ4686, Hβ, [O III]λ4959, 5007) directly from the observed spectra.

We present the velocity fields for the ionized gas and the stars obtained from 2D fibre spectroscopy in the central regions of a sample of active (NGC 985, NGC 1052, NGC 6500) and non-active (M31, M32) galaxies.

We summarize our experience in observing the circumnuclear regions of AGN with the optical-fiber systems that we have developed for the William Herschel and Nordic Optical Telescopes at La Palma.

We present preliminary results about the velocity field of the ionized gas in the central region of NGC 1068, inferred from the [O III] λλ4959, 5007 emission lines. The data, 570 spectra in the inner 23″ × 18″ of this galaxy, were obtained with an optical fiber system which allows 2-D spectroscopy. The velocity field for the ionized gas inferred from the [O III] lines is in good agreement with recent results based on the Hα+[N II] lines.

We present the results of a general programme aimed to study the effects of metallicity on the temperature scale of late main sequence stars (F0-K5). A sample of approximately 400 stars with published UBV(RI) and ubvy – β photometry has been collected from the literature. A three years campaign of observations (Alonso et al. 1994b) was carried out to obtain JHK photometry in order to apply the InfraRed Flux Method (IRFM) to derive effective temperatures. The effect of metallicity on Colour-Colour IR diagrams is discussed. The absolute flux calibration in the IR was revised in Alonso et al. (1994a). The effect of metallicity on the bolometric correction has been studied in Alonso et al. (1995) in order to derive bolometric fluxes. The temperatures have been derived by applying the IRFM using new Kurucz models. Teff = f(Colours, [Fe/H], log(g)) relations are obtained for dwarfs covering the ranges 4000K ≤ Teff ≤ 8000K, 3.5 ≤ logg ≤ 5.00, +0.5 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ −3.00 which expands considerably the database of previous works. These relations are used to check atmosphere models through the analysis of UBV RIJH Kubvy – β synthetic photometry in combination with the IRFM. The transformation from the theoretical HR diagram into an observational one is analyzed with the new relations. The influence of these points on the study of the evolution of the Galaxy is briefly discussed.

In this communication we summarize the main characteristics of three optical fiber systems, namely HEXAFLEX, HEXAFLEX-II, and 2D-FIS, developed for performing simultaneous bidimensional spectroscopy of extended objects. They have been used at the 4.2m William Herschel (WHT) and the 2.5m Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT), which are sited at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos. These systems have been used to observe the circumnuclear regions of several Seyfert galaxies. They show clear advantages over other instruments based on more classical techniques, at least for these complex objects of small angular size on the sky. Some examples will be given to illustrate this.

We present a spectroscopic analysis for the gravity determination of τ Ceti on the basis of a new and high quality set of data. The iron lines are studied by using the Oxford oscillator strengths. The results are compared with those obtained with “solar” oscillator strengths. Non-LTE effects seem to be important in this star. The Fel at λ 526.955 nm line is used to apply the Blackwell and Willis (1977) method to determine the surface gravity. The derived log g is 4.70±0.1.