Related papers: Understanding dwarf galaxies as galactic building …
Advances in extragalactic astronomy have prompted the development of increasingly realistic models which aim to describe the formation and evolution of galaxies. We review the philosophy behind one such technique, called semi-analytic…
The fraction of star-forming to quiescent dwarf galaxies varies from almost infinity in the field to zero in the centers of rich galaxy clusters. What is causing this pronounced morphology-density relation? What do quiescent dwarf galaxies…
Diffuse elliptical galaxies (or dwarfs) are the numerically dominant population in clusters like Virgo and Fornax. They carry only a few percent of the baryonic mass but are very sensitive to the environment; so they keep a fossil record of…
In a Lambda CDM Universe, galaxies grow in mass both through star formation and through addition of already-formed stars in galaxy mergers. Because of this partial decoupling of these two modes of galaxy growth, I discuss each separately in…
This chapter reviews how galactic inflows influence galaxy metallicity. The goal is to discuss predictions from theoretical models, but particular emphasis is placed on the insights that result from using models to interpret observations.…
Driven by gravity, massive structures like galaxies and clusters of galaxies are believed to grow continuously through hierarchical merging and accretion of smaller systems. Observational evidence of accretion events is provided by the…
Dwarf galaxies (M*<10^9 Msun) are key drivers of mass assembly in high mass galaxies, but relatively little is understood about the assembly of dwarf galaxies themselves. Using the \textsc{NewHorizon} cosmological simulation (40 pc spatial…
In this contribution the discovery and properties of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies are presented, and their possible origin is discussed. This new type of galaxy resides in the cores of galaxy clusters. In the fundamental plane diagram of…
This paper addresses the questions of what we have learned about how and when dense star clusters form, and what studies of star clusters have revealed about galaxy formation and evolution. One important observation is that globular…
The star formation histories of Local Group galaxies are summarized. The three large spirals are discussed individually, whereas the discussion of the Local Group dwarfs concentrates on differences and commonalities. While Local Group…
Recent spectroscopic and morphological observational studies of galaxies around NGC 1399 in the Fornax Cluster (Drinkwater et al. 2000b) have discovered several `ultra-compact dwarf' galaxies with intrinsic sizes of $\sim$ 100 pc and…
In the current concordance cosmology small halos are expected to be completely dark and can significantly perturb low-mass galaxies during minor merger interactions. These interactions may well contribute to the diversity of the dwarf…
The last fifteen years have seen the discovery of new types of low-mass stellar systems that bridge the gap between the once well-separated regimes of galaxies and of star clusters. Whether such objects are considered galaxies depends also…
Since 2015 there has been a great deal of interest in a supposed new class of galaxy called Ultra Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs). These are large systems with sizes $> 1.5$ kpc and have surface brightness values which are $\mu > 25$ mag…
The current Lambda CDM cosmological model predicts that galaxy evolution proceeds more slowly in lower density environments, suggesting that voids are a prime location to search for relatively pristine galaxies that are representative of…
High resolution gravity plus smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations are used to study the formation of galaxies within the context of hierarchical structure formation. The simulations have sufficient dynamic range to resolve from ten…
Small stellar systems like dwarf galaxies are suggested to be the main building blocks of our Galaxy by numerical simulations in Lambda CDM models. The existence of star streams like Sagittarius tidal stream indicates that dwarf galaxies…
Observations of early-type dwarf galaxies in clusters often show that cluster dwarf members have significantly higher velocities and less symmetric distributions than cluster giant ellipticals, suggesting that these dwarfs are recently…
Galaxy evolution is in transition from an early universe dominated by hierarchical clustering to a future dominated by secular processes. These result from interactions involving collective phenomena such as bars, oval disks, spiral…
Dwarf galaxies are ideal laboratories to test dark matter models and alternative theories because their dynamical mass (from observed kinematics) largely outweighs their baryonic mass (from gas and stars). In most star-forming dwarfs, cold…