The Cometary Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies Mkn 59 and Mkn 71: Clues to Dwarf Galaxy Evolution?
K.G. Noeske (1), N.G. Guseva (2), K.J. Fricke (1), Y.I. Izotov (2), P., Papaderos (1), T.X. Thuan (3) ((1) Universitaets-Sternwarte Goettingen,, Germany, (2) MAO, Kiev, Ukraine, (3) Astr. Dept., Univ. of Virginia,, Charlottesville, USA)

TL;DR
This study investigates the properties and possible evolutionary links of cometary Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies, analyzing their structure, metallicity, and age to understand their place in dwarf galaxy evolution.
Contribution
It provides the first detailed analysis of the physical properties, ages, and structure of the host galaxies of iI,C BCDs, suggesting they may be a transitional phase in dwarf galaxy evolution.
Findings
Host galaxies have formation ages around 2 Gyr, younger than typical BCDs.
Metallicity shows effective mixing over kpc scales.
Surface brightness profiles are intermediate between other BCD types.
Abstract
"Cometary" Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies (iI,C BCDs) are characterized by off-center starbursts close to the end of an elongated dwarf irregular (dI)-like host galaxy. This may either represent randomly enhanced star-forming activity of a dI, or may be caused by a set of special properties of such systems or their environment. For a first investigation of this issue, we analyse the nearby iI,C BCDs Markarian 59 and Markarian 71. Using deep ground-based spectrophotometric data and HST images, we derive physical properties, structure and ages of the starburst regions and the underlying stellar host galaxies. The metallicities show small scatter in the vicinity of the star-forming regions and along the major axis of Mrk 59 which suggests effective mixing of heavy elements on kpc scales. The surface brightness profiles of the underlying host galaxies in either iI,C BCD show an exponential…
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Taxonomy
TopicsStellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Astronomy and Astrophysical Research · Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies
