Star formation in nuclear rings

We find a clear relationship between the position angles and ellipticities of the rings and those of their host galaxies, which indicates the rings are in the same plane as the disk and circular.

We use population synthesis models to estimate ages of each H{alpha}-emitting (HII) region, which range from 1 to 10Myr throughout the rings. We find that approximately half of the rings contain azimuthal age gradients that encompass at least 25% of the ring, although there is no apparent relationship between the presence or absence of age gradients and the morphology of the rings or their host galaxies. NGC 1343, NGC 1530, and NGC 4321 show clear bipolar age gradients, where the youngest HII regions are located near the two contact points of the bar and ring.