Starbursts in the IR

Infrared observations of starburst galaxies provide fundamental information on their stellar content and interstellar medium also in the innermost central regions. Many interesting absorption features due to the red stellar populations and nebular emission lines are present in their spectra. By comparing observations and theoretical predictions based on evolutionary synthesis models, a few crucial features as potential tracers of the galaxy evolution will be analyzed, highlighting the major results and caveats. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.