I Zw 18, a Template for Star-Forming, z is Greater than 7 Galaxies

I Zw 18-NW, one of the most primitive nearby dwarf galaxies, is arguably the best template we have for star-forming, very high-redshift galaxies (z>7). We have therefore obtained a far-UV spectrum of I Zw 18-NW using Hubble's Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS). The spectrum indicates star-formation over the past approx.10 Myr, a very low stellar metallicity, log Z/Zsun approx. -1.7, and high average stellar rotation rate, Vsini approx.200 km/s. Stellar wind lines are very weak, and the edge velocity of wind lines is very low (approx.250 km/s). The overall properties of I Zw 18-NW are consistent with theories of very low metallicity, rapidly rotating stars, e.g. Meynet et al. (2006).