Ultra-deep imaging of nearby dwarf irregular galaxies: stellar haloes and disk structure

Abstract

We have examined the stellar structure of 10 nearby, low stellar mass (10^6 to 6 x 10^7 Msolar) dwarf irregular galaxies by fitting ellipses as a function of surface brightness on ultra-deep V images. These are compared to far ultraviolet images as tracers of the star formation. We find that the often asymmetrical distribution of large patches of star formation activity in dwarfs, even out to low disk surface brightness levels, skews the broad-band optical isophotes in these galaxies. We also looked for evidence of the presence of a stellar halo. Possible hints of such are found in several galaxies from irregularities in the ellipses, but a stack of seven of the galaxies shows a pure exponential out to a V surface brightness of 32.3 mag/arcsec^2 where the stellar surface density is 0.0013 +/- 0.0011 Msolar/pc^2. The extended stellar component, most likely a disk structure, is probably due to internal evolutionary processes rather than external accretion. The UBVI colors of the annuli are consistent with ages of 1-6 Gyr for the far outer stellar disk.