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Early-type dwarf galaxies play a key role in understanding the mechanisms
that govern galaxy formation and evolution and their dependence on
environment. Their low mass and low density make them more susceptible to
physical effects than giant galaxies, and they outnumber all other galaxy
types in dense environments by far. Despite their rather unspectacular
appearance at first glance, a surprising complexity in their
characteristics has become evident, in terms of structure, stellar
content, kinematics, and distribution. This zoo of early-type dwarfs and
their possible origin(s) pose an ongoing challenge to observers and
theorists.
The 2.5 day symposium aims to integrate the current knowledge on
early-type dwarfs into a broader picture. Specifically, the following
questions will be addressed:
- Which evolutionary links exist between early-type dwarfs and other
galaxy types, and how are these influenced by environmental characteristics?
- How relevant is the possibility of an early cosmological origin of early-type dwarfs, as
compared to a late formation through transformation processes?
- Which future observational campaigns and theoretical models are
necessary to test the proposed formation scenarios and significantly
increase our understanding of this complex galaxy population?
The symposium focuses on galaxies beyond the Local Group, since
Local Group galaxies are typically subject of a number of international
conferences per year, while this has not been the case for early-type
dwarfs in the above framework so far.
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