280526 VU Consolidation module: Dwarf Galaxies (2017S)

That dwarf galaxies are postulated as cosmological building blocks of the massive galaxies and that they outrange by number all morphological galaxy types, make them extremely interesting astrophysical objects. They span a wide mass range of several orders of magnitude but do not simply appear as small editions of the massive Hubble galaxies. Because of their low masses they are sensitive to energetic perturbations, internally as e.g. by supernova explosions, and also externally by environmental effects. Because they exist in different environments with a large structural variety, they serve as ideal testbeds for astrophysical processes. This lecture will at first classify the morphological types of dwarf galaxies and correlate their properties with their existence as satellites of massiv galaxies, their role in galaxy clusters and in the field, and illuminate their possible formation path in tidal tails of major interacting galaxies.