In this paper we analyze Very Large Array (VLA) telescope and Green Bank
Telescope (GBT) atomic hydrogen (HI) data for the LITTLE THINGS(1) blue compact
dwarf galaxy IC 10. The VLA data allow us to study the detailed HI kinematics
and morphology of IC 10 at high resolution while the GBT data allow us to
search the surrounding area at high sensitivity for tenuous HI. IC 10's HI
appears highly disturbed in both the VLA and GBT HI maps with a kinematically
distinct northern HI extension, a kinematically distinct southern plume, and
several spurs in the VLA data that do not follow the general kinematics of the
main disk. We discuss three possible origins of its HI structure and kinematics
in detail: a current interaction with a nearby companion, an advanced merger,
and accretion of intergalactic medium. We find that IC 10 is most likely an
advanced merger or a galaxy undergoing accretion.
1:Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The HI Nearby Galaxy
Survey; https://science.nrao.edu/science/surveys/littlethingsComment: 36 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in The Astronomical
Journa