[HT2008] 6 , the SIMBAD biblio

We combine VLT/ISAAC near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy with archival HST/WFPC2 and HST/NICMOS imaging to study the central 20x20arcsec² of M83. Our NIR indices for clusters in the circumnuclear starburst region are inconsistent with simple instantaneous burst models. However, models of a single burst dispersed over a duration of 6 Myr fit the data well and provide the clearest evidence yet of an age gradient along the star-forming arc, with the youngest clusters nearest the north-east dust lane. The long-slit kinematics show no evidence to support previous claims of a second hidden mass concentration, although we do observe changes in molecular gas velocity consistent with the presence of a shock at the edge of the dust lane.