Dwarf galaxies in the nearby Lynx-Cancer void: Photometry, colours and ages

Abstract

The nearby Lynx-Cancer void is a good laboratory to study the effect of very rarefied environment on the evolution of the least massive dwarf galaxies. A recently compiled sample of this void's galaxies includes about one hundred objects with MB in the range -12 to -18 mag. Good quality images are available in the SDSS database for ∼80% of the sample. Their u; g; r; i; z photometry allows one to derive galaxy stellar mass (and, incorporating HI data, gas mass-fraction) and ages of visible stellar populations, and hence, the epoch of their formation (first SF episode). We present the first photometric results of the ongoing study of the Lynx-Cancer void. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012.