Two formation paths for cluster dwarf galaxies?
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A surprising result of our recent spectroscopic survey of galaxies in the Coma cluster has been the discovery of a possible bimodal distribution in the metallicities of faint galaxies at $M_B>-17$. We identified a group of dwarfs with luminosity-weighted metallicities around solar and a group with [M/H] around -1.5. A metallicity bimodality among galaxies of similar luminosities is unexpected and suggests that faint cluster galaxies could be an heterogeneous population that formed through more than one evolutionary path, possibly as a consequence of the cluster environment.
2 pages, to appear in IAU Symp. Series vol.217, Recycling intergalactic and interstellar matter, eds. P.-A. Duc, J. Braine, E. Brinks
2 pages, to appear in IAU Symp. Series vol.217, Recycling intergalactic and interstellar matter, eds. P.-A. Duc, J. Braine, E. Brinks