An Ultraviolet Study of Star-Forming Regions in M33

We studied the young stellar populations of star-forming (SF) regions in M33 based on the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) ultraviolet (UV) imaging data. The SF regions are defined from far-UV data with various thresholds. We examined the reddening and spatial distribution of hot massive stars within SF regions from Hubble Space Telescope multi-band survey and Local Group Galaxy Survey (LGGS) data. The H-alpha sources from the LGGS are used for comparing with the spatial distribution of SF regions. The GALEX UV flux measurements of SF regions are used to derive their ages and masses. We also estimated the size and density of SF regions. The younger and compact SF regions are often arranged within older and sparser SF complexes. The results allow us to understand the hierarchical star formation and recent evolution of M33.