| Abstract : | Dwarf galaxies (M < 1010 Msun) are the most abundant systems in the Universe. They are
characterized by smaller sizes and shallower gravitational potentials compared to more massive
galaxies. These properties make it difficult for them to retain dense gas and hence form stars.
Although a large fraction of dwarfs are low luminosity and fall in the low surface brightness (LSB)
galaxy class, a significant fraction are a star forming dwarf galaxies. They can be broadly classified as
dwarf spirals and irregular galaxies. These star forming dwarf galaxies (SFDGs) are characterized by
low mass, low chemical abundances, high gas masses, and dark matter (DM) content. They also have
different subclasses based on their morphology. Our study is aimed at characterizing and comparing
the star formation in dwarf spirals and irregulars using UVIT observations. As UVIT has a high spatial
resolution (~1.2”), it is possible to study the star forming complexes (SFCs) in nearby dwarf galaxies.
We have extracted the SFCs, derived their areas, star formation rates, and their distributions in the
galaxy disks. We compared this distribution within our sample and also with more massive galaxies
which are already studied using UVIT. We compared these results for dwarf spirals and dwarf
irregulars to see how star formation is different in different types of dwarfs. In this poster we present
some preliminary results of our study - for the dwarf spiral NGC4136 and the irregular galaxy
UGC7608. |
