Neutral Gas Distributions and Kinematics of Five Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies

We present the results of high spatial resolution HI observations of five intrinsically compact dwarf galaxies which are currently experiencing a strong burst of star formation. The HI maps indicate that these systems have a complex and clumpy interstellar medium. Unlike typical dwarf irregular galaxies, these Blue Compact Dwarf (BCD) galaxies exhibit strong central concentrations in their neutral gas distributions which may provide a clue to the origin of their strong star-burst activity. Furthermore, while all of the systems do appear to be rotating, based on observed velocity gradients, the kinematics are complex. All systems have non-ordered kinematic structure at some level; some of the extended gas is not necessarily kinematically connected to the main system. The observed gas distributions and kinematics place constraints on evolutionary scenarios for BCDs. Evolutionary links between BCDs, dwarf irregulars, and dwarf ellipticals have been postulated to explain their high star formation rates and low luminosity, low metallicity nature. The BCDs appear to have higher central mass concentrations in both gas and stellar content than the dwarf irregulars, indicating that evolutionary scenarios connecting these two classes will require mass redistribution. In addition, the fact that BCDs are rotationally supported systems indicates that BCDs are unlikely to evolve into dwarf ellipticals without substantial loss of angular momentum. Thus, while such evolutionary scenarios may still be possible with the aid of mergers or tidal interactions, the isolated nature of BCDs suggests that the majority of BCDs will not fade to become objects similar to the present day dwarf ellipticals.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures. To appear in A

A Population of Metal-Poor Galaxies with ~L* Luminosities at Intermediate Redshifts

We present new spectroscopy and metallicity estimates for a sample of 15 star-forming galaxies with redshifts in the range 0.29 - 0.42. These objects were selected in the KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey via their strong emission lines seen in red objective-prism spectra. Originally thought to be intermediate-redshift Seyfert 2 galaxies, our new spectroscopy in the far red has revealed these objects to be metal-poor star-forming galaxies. These galaxies follow a luminosity-metallicity (L-Z) relation that parallels the one defined by low-redshift galaxies, but is offset by a factor of more than ten to lower abundances. The amount of chemical and/or luminosity evolution required to place these galaxies on the local L-Z relation is extreme, suggesting that these galaxies are in a very special stage of their evolution. They may be late-forming massive systems, which would challenge the current paradigm of galaxy formation. Alternatively, they may represent intense starbursts in dwarf-dwarf mergers or a major infall episode of pristine gas into a pre-existing galaxy. In any case, these objects represent an extreme stage of galaxy evolution taking place at relatively low redshift.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures; to appear in 10 April 2009 ApJ

Comparing Infrared Star-Formation Rate Indicators with Optically-Derived Quantities

We examine the UV reprocessing efficiencies of warm dust and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through an analysis of the mid- and far-infrared surface luminosity densities of 85 nearby H$\alpha$-selected star-forming galaxies detected by the volume-limited KPNO International Spectroscopic Survey (KISS). Because H$\alpha$ selection is not biased toward continuum-bright objects, the KISS sample spans a wide range in stellar masses ($10^8$-$10^{12}\rm{M}_\odot$), as well as H$\alpha$ luminosity ($10^{39}$-$10^{43}\rm{ergs/s}$), mid-infrared 8.0$\mu$m luminosity ($10^{41}$-$10^{44}\rm{ergs/s}$), and [Bw-R] color (-.1-2.2). We find that mid-infrared polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission in the Spitzer IRAC 8.0$\mu$m band correlates with star formation, and that the efficiency with which galaxies reprocess UV energy into PAH emission depends on metallicity. We also find that the relationship between far-infrared luminosity in the Spitzer MIPS 24$\mu$m band pass and H$\alpha$-measured star-formation rate varies from galaxy to galaxy within our sample; we do not observe a metallicity dependence in this relationship. We use optical colors and established mass-to-light relationships to determine stellar masses for the KISS galaxies; we compare these masses to those of nearby galaxies as a confirmation that the volume-limited nature of KISS avoids strong biases. We also examine the relationship between IRAC 3.6$\mu$m luminosity and galaxy stellar mass, and find a color-dependent correlation between the two.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure

Radio line and continuum observations of quasar-galaxy pairs and the origin of low reshift quasar absorption line systems

There are a number of known quasars for which our line of sight to the high redshift quasar passes within a few Holmberg radii of a low redshift galaxy. In a few of these cases, spectra of the quasar reveal absorption by gas associated with the low redshift galaxy. A number of these pairs imply absorption by gas which lies well outside the optical disk of the associated galaxy, leading to models of galaxies with 'halos' or 'disks' of gas extending to large radii. The authors present observations of 4 such pairs. In three of the four cases, they find that the associated galaxy is highly disturbed, typically due to a gravitational interaction with a companion galaxy, while in the fourth case the absorption can be explained by clouds in the optical disk of the associated galaxy. They are led to an alternative hypothesis concerning the origin of the low redshift absorption line systems: the absorption is by gas clouds which have been gravitationally stripped from the associated galaxy. These galaxies are rapidly evolving, and should not be used as examples of absorption by clouds in halos of field spirals. The authors conclude by considering the role extended gas in interacting systems plays in the origin of higher redshift quasar absorption line systems

Infrared Properties of a Complete Sample of Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies

We present a study of a large, statistically complete sample of star-forming dwarf galaxies using mid-infrared observations from the {\it Spitzer Space Telescope}. The relationships between metallicity, star formation rate (SFR) and mid-infrared color in these systems show that the galaxies span a wide range of properties. However, the galaxies do show a deficit of 8.0 \um\ polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon emission as is apparent from the median 8.0 \um\ luminosity which is only 0.004 \lstarf\ while the median $B$-band luminosity is 0.05 \lstarb. Despite many of the galaxies being 8.0 \um\ deficient, there is about a factor of 4 more extremely red galaxies in the [3.6] $-$ [8.0] color than for a sample of normal galaxies with similar optical colors. We show correlations between the [3.6] $-$ [8.0] color and luminosity, metallicity, and to a lesser extent SFRs that were not evident in the original, smaller sample studied previously. The luminosity--metallicity relation has a flatter slope for dwarf galaxies as has been indicated by previous work. We also show a relationship between the 8.0 \um\ luminosity and the metallicity of the galaxy which is not expected given the competing effects (stellar mass, stellar population age, and the hardness of the radiation field) that influence the 8.0 \um\ emission. This larger sample plus a well-defined selection function also allows us to compute the 8.0 \um\ luminosity function and compare it with the one for the local galaxy population. Our results show that below 10$^{9}$ $L$\solar, nearly all the 8.0 \um\ luminosity density of the local universe arises from dwarf galaxies that exhibit strong \ha\ emission -- i.e., 8.0 \um\ and \ha\ selection identify similar galaxy populations despite the deficit of 8.0 \um\ emission observed in these dwarfs.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures, Published in Ap