Revealing the Hidden Universe: A Comprehensive Study of Low-Mass Galaxies Beyond the Local Group

Low-mass (dwarf) galaxies, with masses under a few billion solar masses, hold significant importance in astrophysics.

They are the key objects in challenging dark matter models on small scales, yet considerable uncertainties remain in our understanding of their baryonic physics.

Dwarfs also hold important clues on early star formation and chemical enrichment, and on the buildup of galaxies and the black holes within them.

However, studying them has been hard their low surface brightness nature makes them challenging to detect using standard instrumentation and survey techniques.

Despite decades of research, our understanding of dwarfs primarily relies on those in our galactic neighborhood, orbiting the Milky Way. Recent technological advances have sparked a thrilling era of rapid dwarf galaxy discovery beyond the Milky Way.

I propose a research program using two novel wide-field surveys, capitalizing on instrumentation designed specifically for this purpose to transform three key aspects: (1) With data from the Dragonfly Wide Field Survey, I will perform a pioneering study of galaxies down to the ultra-faint regime well beyond the Local Group.

I will also utilize proprietary data from the Merian Survey to construct a sample of 100,000 classical dwarf galaxies at a redshift of z=0.05-0.1.

These datasets will establish a solid foundation for understanding the census low-mass galaxies; (2) By combining kinematic measurements and dynamical modeling, I will obtain constraints on dwarfs dark matter halo profiles, shedding light on core vs. cusp structures, dynamical friction, and dark matter on small scales; and (3) Pinpoint the baryonic processes that shape these galaxies by studying their stellar, gas, and star formation properties.

With leadership roles in both observational initiatives, an in-depth understanding of the data, and exclusive data access, I'm uniquely positioned to lead this program, timed ahead of future community surveys like LSST, Euclid, and Roman.