Substructure in Dwarf Galaxies

Matthew Coleman

Abstract

Recent years have seen a series of large-scale photometric surveys with the aim of detecting substructure in nearby dwarf galaxies. Some of these objects display a varying distribution of each stellar population, reflecting their star formation histories. Also, dwarf galaxies are dominated by dark matter, therefore luminous substructure may represent a perturbation in the underlying dark material. Substructure can also be the effect of tidal interaction, such as the disruption of the Sagittarius dSph by the Milky Way. Therefore, substructure in dwarf galaxies manifests the stellar, structural, and kinematic evolution of these objects.

Keywords: galaxies: dwarf — galaxies: stellar content — galaxies: interactions — Galaxy: halo — Local Group

Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia 21(4) 379 - 381 (2004) doi:10.1071/AS04040