Dwarf Galaxies and Their Formation: A Study in the Compact Group Environment

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AST 95-29242 Jane Charlton Dwarf Galaxies and Their Formation: A Study in the Compact Group Environment. Knowledge of the numbers and properties of dwarf galaxies in various environments is an essential element for devising the overall scenario for galaxy formation. The luminosity function of dwarfs is determined by a synthesis of the initial density fluctuation spectrum with evolutionary processes acting to create or destroy existing galaxies. The goal of this observational program is to discover the formation mechanism for dwarf galaxies and to explore the consequences for galaxy formation in general. In particular this program has the following three objectives: (1) To provide the most complete determination of the luminosity function in compact groups, extending well into the regime of the dwarf population; (2) To study the physics of star formation and dwarf galaxy formation in the tidal debris of interacting giants in compact groups; and (3) To determine the overall importance of tidal dwarfs for galaxy formation.