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1. SHIELD: EVLA HI Spectral Line Observations of Low-mass Dwarfs

   Miazzo, Masao ; Ruvolo, Elizabeth ; Cannon, John M. ; McNichols, Andrew ; Teich, Yaron ; Adams, Elizabeth A. ; Giovanelli, Riccardo ; Haynes, Martha P. ; McQuinn, Kristen B. ; Salzer, John Joseph ; et al ( January 2017 , American Astronomical Society ... meeting)

   The “Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs” (SHIELD) is a multiwavelength study of local volume low-mass galaxies. Using the now-complete Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) source catalog, 82 systems are identified that meet distance, line width, and HI flux criteria for being gas-rich, low-mass galaxies. These systems harbor neutral gas reservoirs smaller than 3x10^7 M_sun, thus populating the faint end of the HI mass function with statistical confidence for the first time. Here we present new Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array D-configuration HI spectral line observations of 32 previously unobserved galaxies. These low angular resolution (~40" beam) images localize the HI gas; with a few exceptions, the HI gas is co-spatial with the optical centers of the galaxies. These images provide the first glimpse of the neutral interstellar medium in these systems.Support for this work was provided by NSF grant 1211683 to JMC at Macalester College. 

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2. The Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs: A Multi-Wavelength Perspective on Low-Mass Galaxy Evolution

   Cannon, John M. ; McNichols, Andrew ; Teich, Yaron ; Adams, Elizabeth A. ; Giovanelli, Riccardo ; Haynes, Martha P. ; McQuinn, Kristen B. ; Salzer, John Joseph ; Skillman, Evan D. ; Dolphin, Andrew E. ; et al ( January 2017 , American Astronomical Society ... meeting)

   The “Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs” (SHIELD) is a multiwavelength study of local volume low-mass galaxies drawn from the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) catalog. HST/Spitzer joint program GO-12658 revealed the stellar populations of the first 12 SHIELD galaxies (Cannon et al. 2011), allowing accurate distance measurements (McQuinn et al. 2014) and detailed studies of the patterns of recent star formation in each galaxy (McQuinn et al. 2015). These HST and Spitzer images are a critical interpretive benchmark for ground-based optical imaging and spectroscopy (Haurberg et al. 2015), as well as for sensitive VLA HI spectral line imaging of the SHIELD galaxies (McNichols et al. 2016; Teich et al. 2016). These results have furthered our understanding of the evolution of galaxies in a mass regime that was previously only sparsely populated. With the low-redshift ALFALFA catalog now complete, the scope of the SHIELD program has been expanded to include all 82 galaxies that meet distance, line width, and HI flux criteria for being gas-rich, low-mass galaxies. In HST program 13750, images of 18 more SHIELD galaxies have again set the physical scales for supporting HI spectral line imaging with both the VLA and the WSRT (Gordon et al. 2016). Taken as a whole, the ongoing SHIELD program is one of the most comprehensive multiwavelength studies of the physical properties of low-mass galaxies outside of the Local Group. 

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3. HI Spectral Line Imaging of Three SHIELD Galaxies

   Hetrick, Jacob ; Cannon, John M. ; Adams, Elizabeth ; Giovanelli, Riccardo ; Haynes, Martha P. ; Janewiecki, Steven ; Jones, Michael ; Leisman, Lukas ; McQuinn, Kristen B. ; Rhode, Katherine ; et al ( January 2019 , American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting)

   The ALFALFA blind HI survey has populated the low-mass end of the HI mass function for the first time, allowing an unprecedented opportunity to explore the physical properties of the galaxies that inhabit this extreme portion of parameter space. Using the now-complete ALFALFA dataset, we have constructed the "Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs" ("SHIELD"), a complete sample of 82 galaxies that provides a unique opportunity to further our understanding of these cosmologically important systems. Here we present new VLA imaging of the final 3 of the 82 sources to be observed at low angular resolution in the HI spectral line: AGC215284, AGC731448, and AGC732041 (program VLA/18A-177). We compare the HI images to ground-based H-alpha imaging in order to examine the star formation properties of each system. 

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4. The Neutral ISM of the Extremely Metal­Deficient Galaxy Leoncino

   Bartz, Josh ; Page, Tylyn ; Cannon, John M. ; Adams, Elizabeth ; Berg, Danielle ; Dolphin, Andrew ; Giovanelli, Riccardo ; Gordon, Alex J. ; Haynes, Martha P. ; Hirschauer, Alec S. ; et al ( January 2019 , American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting)

   We present new multi-configuration VLA HI spectral line imaging of the dwarf galaxies AGC 198691 (hereafter, Leoncino) and UGC 5186. Leoncino is one of 82 galaxies in the "Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs" ("SHIELD"), a multi-wavelength investigation of low-mass galaxies that were cataloged by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey. Leoncino is one of the lowest metallicity galaxies known in the local universe (Hirschauer et al. 2016). A single pointing with the VLA allows us to study the HI morphology and dynamics of both galaxies simultaneously. We present HI images at a variety of angular resolutions in order to explore both the global and the resolved properties of the neutral ISM. 

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5. Spitzer Imaging of the SHIELD Galaxies

   Klapkowski, M. ; Cannon, J. ; Adams, E. ; Giovanelli, R. ; Haynes, M. ; Hirschauer, A. ; Janowiecki, S. ; Jones, M. ; McQuinn, K. ; Rhode, K. ; et al ( January 2020 , American Astronomical Society meeting)

   We present new Spitzer 3.6 µm images of the 82 galaxies in the "Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs" (SHIELD). Selected from the ALFALFA blind HI survey, SHIELD is a volumetrically complete sample of galaxies with HI mass reservoirs smaller than 2x107 M☉. These galaxies populate extreme portions of parameter space and they offer unique opportunities to explore the physical properties of very low-mass halos in the local Universe. The new Spitzer images allow us to measure the stellar masses of the SHIELD galaxies. We discuss methods used to remove image artifacts and to excise foreground and background contaminants. We then measure the total 3.6 µm fluxes of the systems and apply a mass to light ratio in order to derive their stellar masses. We discuss the application of this technique to the Leoncino dwarf (AGC198691, one of the most extremely metal-poor galaxies known), resulting in a stellar mass of 7.3x107 M☉. This work has been supported by NSF AST-1637339 and by Macalester College. 

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