Formation of ultra-compact blue dwarf galaxies and their evolution into nucleated dwarfs

TL;DR

This paper uses numerical simulations to propose that ultra-compact blue dwarf galaxies form from dwarf-dwarf mergers and evolve into nucleated dwarfs with complex stellar populations and high central densities.

Contribution

It introduces a new evolutionary pathway linking UCBDs and nucleated dwarfs through gas-rich dwarf mergers, supported by detailed simulation results.

Findings

Merger remnants can be dominated by new star formation with high metallicity.

Remnants can have very high central mass densities (~10^4 M_sun/pc^3).

Some structures resemble observed nucleated dwarfs.

Abstract

We propose that there is an evolutionary link between ultra-compact blue dwarf galaxies (UCBDs) with active star formation and nucleated dwarfs based on the results of numerical simulations of dwarf-dwarf merging. We consider the observational fact that low-mass dwarfs can be very gas-rich, and thereby investigate the dynamical and chemical evolution of very gas-rich, dissipative dwarf-dwarf mergers. We find that the remnants of dwarf-dwarf mergers can be dominated by new stellar populations formed from the triggered starbursts and consequently can have blue colors and higher metallicities (Z~[0.2-1]Z_sun). We also find that the remnants of these mergers can have rather high mass-densities (10^4 M_sun pc^-3) within the central 10 pc and small half-light radii (40-100 pc). The radial stellar structures of some merger remnants are similar to those of nucleated dwarfs. Star formation can continue in nuclear gas disks (R<100 pc) surrounding stellar galactic nuclei (SGNs) so that the SGNs can finally have multiple stellar populations with different ages and metallicities. These very compact blue remnants can be identified as UCBDs soon after merging and as nucleated dwarfs after fading of young stars. We discuss these results in the context of the origins of metal-rich ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) and SGNs.