Deidre A. Hunter

Astronomer, Lowell Observatory

Research Interests

The LITTLE THINGS Survey
Cloud and star formation processes in galaxies
Structure of dwarf galaxies
Tidal dwarfs
Interstellar medium of galaxies
Super star clusters
Star-forming regions

Other Activities

The color picture shown here is of Sextans A = DDO 75, a tiny irregular galaxy. This combination of UBV images was made by Howard Bond for the cover of PASP from images taken by D. Hunter at the 0.9 m at CTIO. See 1997, PASP, 109, 937 for a review of star formation in irregulars.

A Survey of Dwarf Galaxies

Over the past 15 years, we have conducted a multi-wavelength survey of a large sample of galaxies without spiral arms for the purposes of understanding how tiny galaxies form stars. The sample includes 94 dwarf irregular (dIm), 24 Blue Compact Dwarfs (BCD), and 18 Sm galaxies. The data are available: UBVJHK images, color maps (one filter image divided by another); and surface brightness plots. Halpha images are available via NED.

References for published datasets: Halpha images (Hunter & Elmegreen 2004); UBVJHK images (Hunter & Elmegreen 2006); Spitzer IRAC images (Hunter, Elmegreen, & Martin 2006); Spitzer IRS spectra (Hunter & Kaufman 2007, AJ, September); individual HI studies (Hunter, Elmegreen, & van Woerden 2001; Simpson, Hunter, & Knezek 2005; Simpson, Hunter, & Nordgren 2005; Kepley, Wilcots, Hunter, & Nordgren 2007).

We have put the UBV images together into color pictures of a selected sub-sample of galaxies.

Selected figures from and related to a sampling of papers since 1997:

1997, "An Emission-Line Study of Supergiant Ionized Filaments in Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter and J. S. Gallagher, ApJ, 475, 65.
1997, "The Intermediate Mass Stellar Population of the Large Magellanic Cloud Cluster NGC 1818 and the Universality of the Stellar Initial Mass Function," D. A. Hunter, R. M. Light, J. A. Holtzman, R. Lynds, E. J. O'Neil, Jr., and C. J. Grillmair, ApJ, 478, 124.
1997, "Ultraviolet Photometry of Stars in the Compact Cluster R136 in the Large Magellanic Cloud," D. A. Hunter, W. D. Vacca, P. Massey, R. Lynds, and E. J. O'Neil, AJ, 113, 1691.
1998, "Star Formation in R136: A Cluster of O3 Stars Revealed by {\it Hubble Space Telescope} Spectroscopy," P. Massey and D. A. Hunter, ApJ, 493, 180.
1998, "The Relationship Between Gas, Stars, and Star Formation in Irregular Galaxies: A Test of Simple Models," D. A. Hunter, B. G. Elmegreen, and A. L. Baker, ApJ, 493, 595.
1998, "Star Formation in and Evolution of the Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxy UGC 6456 Determined from Hubble Space Telescope Images," R. Lynds, E. Tolstoy, E. J. O'Neil, and D. A. Hunter, AJ, 116, 146.
1998, "The Nature of the Extended HI Gas Around NGC 4449: The Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde of Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter, E. M. Wilcots, H. van Woerden, J. S. Gallagher, and S. Kohle, ApJ, 495, L47.
1998, "Recent Star Formation in Shapley Constellation III in the Large Magellanic Cloud," A. E. Dolphin and D. A. Hunter, AJ, 116, 1275.
1999, "Emission-Line Spectroscopy of HII Regions in Irregular and Blue Compact Dwarf Galaxies," D. A. Hunter and Loren Hoffman, AJ, 117, 2789.
1999, "The Luminosity Functions and Size Distributions of HII Regions in Irregular Galaxies," A. J. Youngblood and D. A. Hunter, ApJ, 519, 55.
1999, "Neutral Hydrogen and Star Formation in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449," D. A. Hunter, H. van Woerden, and J. S. Gallagher, AJ, 118, 2184.
2000, "Observations of Cold and Warm CO in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449," D. A. Hunter, C. E. Walker, and E. M. Wilcots, AJ, 119, 668.
2000, "The Spatial Distributions of HII Regions in Irregular Galaxies," E. W. Roye and D. A. Hunter, AJ, 119, 1145.
2000, "A Pressure Anomaly for HII Regions in Irregular Galaxies," B. G. Elmegreen and D. A. Hunter, ApJ, 540, 814.
2000, "Identifying Old Tidal Dwarf Irregulars," D. A. Hunter, S. D. Hunsberger, and E. W. Roye, ApJ, 542, 137.
2000, "The Star Clusters in the Starburst Irregular Galaxy NGC 1569," D. A. Hunter, R. W. O'Connell, J. S. Gallagher, and T. A. Smecker-Hane, AJ, 120, 2383.
2001, "The Star Clusters in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 4449," A. E. Gelatt, D. A. Hunter, and J. S. Gallagher, PASP, 113, 142.
2001, "The Interstellar Medium of Irregular Galaxies: The View with ISO," D. A. Hunter, M. K. Kaufman, D. J. Hollenbach, R. H. Rubin, S. Malhotra, D. A. Dale, J. R. Brauher, N. A. Silbermann, G. Helou, A. Contursi, and S. D. Lord, ApJ, 553, 121.
2001, "Neutral Hydrogen and Star Formation in the Irregular Galaxy NGC 2366," D. A. Hunter, B. G. Elmegreen, and H. van Woerden, ApJ, 556, 773.
2001, "The Stellar Population and Star Clusters in the Unusual Local Group Galaxy IC10," D. A. Hunter, ApJ, 559, 225.
2002, "Compact Star Clusters in Nearby Irregular Galaxies," O. H. Billett, D. A. Hunter, and B. G. Elmegreen, AJ, 123, 1454.
2002, "The Extended HI Distribution of Sextans A," E. M. Wilcots and D. A. Hunter, AJ, 123, 1476.
2002, "The Distribution of Atomic Hydrogen Around Two Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter and E. M. Wilcots, AJ, 123, 2449.
2002, "The Stellar and Gas Kinematics of Several Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter, V. C. Rubin, R. A. Swaters, L. S. Sparke, and S. E. Levine, ApJ, 580, 194.
2003, "Cluster Mass Functions in the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds: Fading and Size of Sample Effects," D. A. Hunter, B. G. Elmegreen, T. J. Dupuy, and M. Mortonson, AJ, 126, 1836.
2004, "Star Formation Properties of a Large Sample of Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter and B. G. Elmegreen, AJ, 128, 2170.
2004, "DDO 88: A Galaxy-Sized Hole in the Interstellar Medium," C. E. Simpson, D. A. Hunter, and P. M. Knezek, AJ, 129, 160.
2005, "Power Spectra in V-band and H$\alpha$ of 9 Irregular Galaxies," K. W. Willett, B. G. Elmegreen, and D. A. Hunter, AJ, 129, 2186.
2005, "DDO 43: A Prototypical Dwarf Irregular Galaxy?," C. E. Simpson, D. A. Hunter, and T. E. Nordgren, AJ, 130, 1049.
2005, "The stellar velocity dispersion in the inner 1.3 disk scale-lengths of the irregular galaxy NGC 4449," D. A. Hunter, V. C. Rubin, R. A. Swaters, L. S. Sparke, and S. E. Levine, ApJ, 634, 281.
2006, "Radial Profiles of Star Formation in the Far Outer Regions of Galaxy Disks," B. G. Elmegreen and D. A. Hunter, ApJ, 636, 712.
2006, "Broadband Imaging of a Large Sample of Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter and B. G. Elmegreen, ApJS, 162, 49.
2006, "Mid-Infrared Images of Stars and Dust in Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter, B. G. Elmegreen, and E. Martin, AJ, 132, 801.
2007, "A High-Resolution Study of the HI Content of the Local Group Dwarf Irregular Galaxy WLM," A. A. Kepley, E. M. Wilcots, D. A. Hunter, and T. Nordgren, AJ, 133, 2242.
2007, "Mid-Infrared Characteristics of Star Forming Complexes in Irregular Galaxies," D. A. Hunter and M. Kaufman, AJ, September.