Bibcode
DOI
Méndez, David I.; Esteban, César
Bibliographical reference
The Astronomical Journal, Volume 118, Issue 6, pp. 2723-2733.
Advertised on:
12
1999
Citations
11
Refereed citations
11
Description
We present results of narrowband (Hα and adjacent continuum) and
broadband (U, B, and V) optical CCD imaging together with
high-resolution Hα spectroscopy of the blue compact Wolf-Rayet
dwarf galaxies POX 4 and Tol 35. POX 4 has a fainter, irregular, and
diffuse companion located 20.5" (4.7 kpc) along the minor axis of the
galaxy, which is visible also in the Hα emission. The difference
in recession velocity between the galaxy and the companion is about 130
km s-1. The observational results lead us to propose that POX
4 could be interpreted as a low-mass ring galaxy, produced by a head-on
intrusion of the fainter companion. Regarding the other object, a
spectrum taken along the major axis of Tol 35 shows the coexistence of
systems of motion with a velocity difference of about 50 km
s-1. Moreover, the deep continuum-subtracted Hα image
of the galaxy shows very faint features that resemble the beginning of
crossed tidal tails or gaseous filaments powered by the mechanical
action of the young stellar population. In this sense, Tol 35 could be
interpreted either as an object in an intermediate-stage merging process
between two gas-rich dwarf galaxies or as an object suffering the effect
of a galactic wind.