Little things

Deidre A. Hunter, Dana Ficut-Vicas, Trisha Ashley, Elias Brinks, Phil Cigan, Bruce G. Elmegreen, Volker Heesen, Kimberly A. Herrmann, Megan Johnson, Se Heon Oh, Michael P. Rupen, Andreas Schruba, Caroline E. Simpson, Fabian Walter, David J. Westpfahl, Lisa M. Young, Hong Xin Zhang

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

289 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present LITTLE THINGS (Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes, The H I Nearby Galaxy Survey), which is aimed at determining what drives star formation in dwarf galaxies. This is a multi-wavelength survey of 37 dwarf irregular and 4 blue compact dwarf galaxies that is centered around H I-line data obtained with the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO) Very Large Array (VLA). The H I-line data are characterized by high sensitivity (≤1.1 mJy beam-1 per channel), high spectral resolution (≤2.6km s -1), and high angular resolution (∼6″). The LITTLE THINGS sample contains dwarf galaxies that are relatively nearby (≤10.3 Mpc; 6″ is ≤300pc), that were known to contain atomic hydrogen, the fuel for star formation, and that cover a large range in dwarf galactic properties. We describe our VLA data acquisition, calibration, and mapping procedures, as well as H I map characteristics, and show channel maps, moment maps, velocity-flux profiles, and surface gas density profiles. In addition to the H I data we have GALEX UV and ground-based UBV and Hα images for most of the galaxies, and JHK images for some. Spitzer mid-IR images are available for many of the galaxies as well. These data sets are available online.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number134
JournalAstronomical Journal
Volume144
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2012

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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