Feedback and the Formation of Dwarf Galaxy Stellar Halos
Abstract
Stellar population studies show that low mass galaxies in all environments
exhibit stellar halos that are older and more spherically distributed than the
main body of the galaxy. In some cases, there is a significant intermediate age
component that extends beyond the young disk. We examine a suite of Smoothed
Particle Hydrodynamic (SPH) simulations and find that elevated early star
formation activity combined with supernova feedback can produce an extended
stellar distribution that resembles these halos for model galaxies ranging from
$v_{200}$ = 15 km s$^{-1}$ to 35 km s$^{-1}$, without the need for accretion of
subhalos.