2000AJ....120.3007M

We present new Hα and [O III] λ5007 narrowband images of the starbursting dwarf galaxy NGC 4214, obtained with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera (WFPC2) on board the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), together with VLA observations of the same galaxy. The HST images resolve features down to physical scales of 2-5 pc, revealing several young (<10 Myr) star-forming complexes of various ionized gas morphologies (compact knots, complete or fragmentary shells) and sizes (∼10-200 pc). Our results are consistent with a uniform set of evolutionary trends: The youngest, smaller, filled regions that presumably are those just emerging from dense star-forming clouds tend to be of high excitation and are highly obscured. Evolved, larger shell-like regions have lower excitation and are less extincted owing to the action of stellar winds and supernovae. In at least one case we find evidence for induced star formation, which has led to a two-stage starburst. Age estimates based on W(Hα) measurements do not agree with those inferred from wind-driven shell models of expanding H II regions. The most likely explanation for this effect is the existence of an ~2 Myr delay in the formation of superbubbles caused by the pressure exerted by the high-density medium in which massive stars are born. We report the detection of a supernova remnant embedded in one of the two large H II complexes of NGC 4214. The dust in NGC 4214 is not located in a foreground screen but is physically associated with the warm ionized gas.