THE EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY OF LOW-LUMINOSITY LOCAL GROUP DWARF GALAXIES

The stellar content of Local Group dwarfs fainter than M(v) = -14.0 is found to correlate with distance from the Galaxy (or M31). Dwarf spheroidals located close to the Galaxy, such as Ursa Minor and Draco, only experienced star formation early in their lifetimes. Dwarf spheroidals at intermediate distances, like Leo I, Fornax, and Carina, underwent significant star formation more recently. Finally, star formation is presently still going on in distant dwarfs such as DDO 210 and Phoenix. Leo II and Tucana are, however, dwarfs that do not conform to this pattern. It is tentatively suggested that ram pressure stripping, strong supernova-driven winds, or a high UV flux form the protoGalaxy (or proto-M31) might have removed gas from dwarf galaxies at small galactocentric distances.