Dwarf galaxies in the nearby Lynx-Cancer void: photometry, colours and ages

TL;DR

This study analyzes the photometry, colours, and ages of dwarf galaxies in the Lynx-Cancer void to understand how a sparse environment influences their evolution, using SDSS data for a sample of about 80 galaxies.

Contribution

It provides the first photometric analysis of dwarf galaxies in the Lynx-Cancer void, linking their properties to environmental effects on galaxy evolution.

Findings

Derived stellar masses and gas mass fractions for the sample.

Estimated ages of stellar populations and formation epochs.

Presented initial photometric results for the void's dwarf galaxies.

Abstract

The nearby Lynx-Cancer void is a good laboratory to study the effect of very rarefied environment on the evolution of the least massive dwarf galaxies. A recently compiled sample of this void's galaxies includes about one hundred objects with M_B in the range -12 to -18 mag. Good quality images are available in the SDSS database for ~80% of the sample. Their u,g,r,i,z photometry allows one to derive galaxy stellar mass (and, incorporating HI data, gas mass-fraction) and ages of visible stellar populations, and hence, the epoch of their formation (first SF episode). We present the first photometric results of the ongoing study of the Lynx-Cancer void.