Chemical and stellar properties of star-forming dwarf galaxies

TL;DR

This review summarizes recent knowledge on the stellar and chemical properties of nearby star-forming dwarf galaxies, highlighting their importance as local analogs of early universe galaxies and discussing current understanding and uncertainties.

Contribution

It compiles and discusses recent findings on the star formation and chemical evolution of star-forming dwarf galaxies within 20 Mpc, emphasizing their role as early universe analogs.

Findings

Dwarf galaxies have low metallicity and high gas content.

They exhibit diverse star formation histories.

Uncertainties remain in chemical abundance measurements.

Abstract

Dwarf galaxies are the least massive, most abundant, and most widely distributed type of galaxies. Hence, they are key to testing theories of galaxy and Universe evolution. Dwarf galaxies sufficiently close to have their gas and stellar components studied in detail are of particular interest, because their properties and their evolution can be inferred with accuracy. This Review summarizes what is known of the stellar and chemical properties of star-forming dwarf galaxies closer than $\sim$20 Mpc. Given their low metallicity, high gas content and ongoing star formation, these objects are supposed to resemble the first galaxies that formed at the earliest epochs, and may thus represent a window on the distant, early Universe. We describe the major results obtained in the past decade on the star formation histories, chemical abundances, galaxy formation and evolution of star-forming dwarfs, and the uncertainties still affecting these results.