Program: GN-2012A-Q-58

U/LIRGs have become an excellent laboratory for investigating galaxy formation and evolution. They are complex systems, running the gamut of galaxy nuclear types, and they may play a crucial role in the merging of massive, star forming galaxies to create quasars. Our studies of Wide-field integral field unit (IFU) data of U/LIRGs so far have revealed a complex array of star formation, shocks, kinematics and abundances. Our exploration of the evolution of metallicity and other properties with merger progress has so far been restricted to early and middle-stage mergers. We have been hindered by the compact nature of the emission-line regions in the latest merger stages. Further IFU data is essential to extend our work to the closing stages of galaxy mergers and create a complete picture of the merging process. We propose to use GMOS to observe local, compact U/LIRGs near the end of the merger process. GMOS will provide excellent 3-D spectra which will be used to measure metallicities and other key gas properties including AGN/starburst contribution, shocks and kinematics. This data will complement our coarser-sampled, shallower Wide Field Spectrograph (WiFeS) data of southern galaxies taken at the ANU 2.3m telescope at Siding Spring Observatory.