What are the Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies?

TL;DR

This study investigates local Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs) through HI surveys, revealing their potential evolutionary paths into dwarf ellipticals, irregulars, or low-mass spirals based on their gas content and dynamics.

Contribution

It provides new observational data on the gas properties of local LCBGs and insights into their possible evolutionary outcomes.

Findings

LCBGs have gas masses similar to low-mass spirals.

They typically exhaust their gas in less than 2 Gyr.

Their properties suggest evolution into dwarf ellipticals, irregulars, or low-mass spirals.

Abstract

Luminous Compact Blue Galaxies (LCBGs) are common at z~1, contributing significantly to the total star formation rate density. By z~0, they are a factor of ten rarer. While we know that LCBGs evolve rapidly, we do not know what drives their evolution nor into what types of galaxies they evolve. We present the results of a single-dish HI survey of local LCBGs undertaken to address these questions. Our results indicate that LCBGs have M(HI) and M(DYN) consistent with low-mass spirals, but typically exhaust their gas reservoirs in less than 2 Gyr. Overall, the properties of LCBGs are consistent with them evolving into high-mass dwarf elliptical or dwarf irregular galaxies or low-mass, late-type spiral galaxies.