Dwarf galaxies, as the most numerous type of galaxy, offer the potential to study galaxy formation and evolution in detail in the nearby Universe. Although they seem to be simple systems at first view, they remain poorly understood. In an attempt to
alleviate this situation, the MAGPOP EU Research and Training Network embarked on a study of dwarf galaxies named MAGPOP-ITP (Peletier et al., 2007). In this paper, we present the analysis of a sample of 24 dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs) in the Virgo Cluster and in the field, using optical long-slit spectroscopy. We examine their stellar populations in combination with their light distribution and environment. We confirm and strengthen previous results that dEs are, on average, younger and more metal-poor than normal elliptical galaxies, and that their [alpha/Fe] abundance ratios scatter around solar. This is in accordance with the downsizing picture of galaxy formation where mass is the main driver for the star formation history. We also find new correlations between the luminosity-weighted mean age, the large-scale asymmetry, and the projected Virgocentric distance. We find that environment plays an important role in the termination of the star formation activity by ram pressure stripping of the gas in short timescales, and in the transformation of disky dwarfs to more spheroidal objects by harassment over longer timescales. This points towards a continuing infall scenario for the evolution of dEs.
We present new estimates of ages and metallicities, based on FORS/VLT optical (4400-5500A) spectroscopy, of 16 dwarf elliptical galaxies (dEs) in the Fornax Cluster and in Southern Groups. These dEs are more metal-rich and younger than previous estim
ates based on narrow-band photometry and low-resolution spectroscopy. For our sample we find a mean metallicity [Z/H] = -0.33 dex and mean age 3.5 Gyr, consistent with similar samples of dEs in other environments (Local Group, Virgo). Three dEs in our sample show emission lines and very young ages. This suggests that some dEs formed stars until a very recent epoch and were self-enriched by a long star formation history. Previous observations of large near-infrared (~8500A) Ca II absorption strengths in these dEs are in good agreement with the new metallicity estimates, solving part of the so-called Calcium puzzle.
