Date of Award

Spring 5-3-2017

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Physics and Astronomy

First Advisor

Rachel Kuzio de Naray

Second Advisor

Misty Bentz

Third Advisor

Michael Crenshaw

Abstract

Low surface brightness (LSB) disk dwarf galaxies are dark matter dominated down to their core, making their halo density distributions vital in testing cosmological model halo predictions. In this thesis, we characterize the photometric and kinematic properties of four nearby LSB dwarfs, determine if they are good candidates for dark matter halo studies, and provide the tools needed to isolate their dark matter component. We use optical broadband imaging and integral field spectroscopy to obtain photometric images and create 2D velocity maps of each galaxy. Using photometric and kinematic DiskFit models, we derived surface brightness profiles, rotation curves, and disk geometry parameters for each galaxy. We found our sample of dwarf galaxies to be free of bulges, bars, and non-circular motions, making them excellent candidates for future dark matter studies.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.57709/10032971

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