Program: GN-2024A-FT-213

One of the most startling discoveries made by JWST is a small population of UV-bright z > 6 galaxies that are metal-poor and extremely nitrogen-rich with N/O ratios 15 times higher than expected for their metallicity. Their C/N/O abundance patterns match those of second generation stars in globular clusters, suggesting that this may be a common, but short-lived, phase associated with the formation of massive clusters in very dense environments. Only 1 local analog of the N-rich high-z galaxies is known. Here we propose to study a second galaxy, MRK 203, which has a high-density central region with a N/O ratio 5 times the solar value (comparable to the high-z galaxies) and a normal N/O ratio outside the nucleus. The galaxy has much higher metallicity and lower ionization than the high-z N-rich galaxies, but it enables us to probe the phenomenon of N-enrichment over a much wider range of galactic conditions. We propose GMOS IFU observations in excellent seeing conditions to obtain a 4X higher resolution view of the nuclear regions. This will enable a more accurate measurement of the density and N-enhancement and it will allow us to probe the stellar populations (Wolf-Rayet stars or stars with masses in excess of 150 M_sun) that may be responsible for the unusual abundance patterns.