skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: First Characterization of the Neutral ISM in Two Local Volume Dwarf Galaxies

Journal Article · · Astrophysical Journal Letters
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;  [1]; ;  [2];  [3]
  1. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Avenue, Saint Paul, MN 55105 (United States)
  2. Special Astrophysical Observatory of RAS, Nizhnij Arkhyz, KChR, 369167 (Russian Federation)
  3. Department of Physics, Metropolitan State University of Denver, P.O. Box 173362, Denver, CO 80217 (United States)

We present the first H i spectral-line images of the nearby, star-forming dwarf galaxies UGC 11411 and UGC 8245, acquired as part of the “Observing for University Classes” program with the Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA). These low-resolution images localize the H i gas and reveal the bulk kinematics of each system. Comparing with Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) broadband and ground-based H α imaging, we find that the ongoing star formation in each galaxy is associated with the highest H i mass surface density regions. UGC 8245 has a much lower current star formation rate than UGC 11411, which harbors very high surface brightness H α emission in the inner disk and diffuse, lower surface brightness nebular gas that extends well beyond the stellar disk as traced by HST . We measure the dynamical masses of each galaxy and find that the halo of UGC 11411 is more than an order of magnitude more massive than the halo of UGC 8245, even though the H i and stellar masses of the sources are similar. We show that UGC 8245 shares similar physical properties with other well-studied low-mass galaxies, while UGC 11411 is more highly dark matter dominated. Both systems have negative peculiar velocities that are associated with a coherent flow of nearby galaxies at high supergalactic latitude.

OSTI ID:
22654370
Journal Information:
Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 848, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English