We present a spatially resolved stellar population study of the inner \sim 200 pc radius of NGC 4303 based on near-infrared integral field spectroscopy with SINFONI/VLT at a spatial resolution of 40-80 pc and using the starlight code .
We found the distribution of the stellar populations presents a spatial variation , suggesting an age stratification .
Three main structures stand out .
Two nuclear blobs , one composed by young stars ( t \leq 50 Myr ) and one with intermediate-age stars ( 50 Myr < t \leq 2 Gyr ) both shifted from the centre .
The third one is an internal intermediate-age spiral arm-like structure , surrounding the blob of young stars .
Our results indicate star formation has occurred through multiple bursts in this source .
Furthermore , the youngest stellar populations ( t \lesssim 2 Gyr ) are distributed along a circumnuclear star-forming ring with r \sim 250 pc .
The ring displays star formation rates ( SFRs ) in the range of 0.002-0.14 M _ { \odot } yr ^ { -1 } , favoring the ‘ pearls-on-a-string ’ scenario .
The old underlying bulge stellar population component ( t > 2 Gyr ) is distributed outside the two blob structures .
For the nuclear region ( inner \sim 60 pc radius ) we derived a SFR of 0.43 M _ { \odot } yr ^ { -1 } and found no signatures of non-thermal featureless continuum and hot dust emission , supporting the scenario in which a LLAGN/LINER-like source is hidden in the centre of NGC 4303 .
Thus , our results reveal a rather complex star formation history in NGC 4303 , with different stellar population components coexisting with a low efficiency accreting black hole in its centre .