An international research team, including scientists from the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), has analyzed a rare merger of dwarf galaxies within a cosmic void. This event offers insights into how galaxies evolve in extremely low-density environments.
The study, led by the University of Granada as part of the Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY (CAVITY) project, reveals an ongoing merger between two low-mass galaxies. These galaxies are located in one of the most sparsely populated regions of the cosmos.
The merging system has a combined stellar mass of less than 10 billion solar masses. Researchers detected rotating gaseous disks and strong ionized gas emission, indicating a star formation burst triggered by the merger. Observations were made using the Isaac Newton Telescope (INT) at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory in La Palma.
The study, published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics, provides new information on galaxy evolution in isolated environments. It highlights the capabilities of the Potsdam Multi-Aperture Spectrograph (PMAS) and the Calar Alto telescope in detecting the faint and compact structures of these systems.