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Description
Blue Compact Galaxies (BCG) are gas rich, low luminosity, low metallicity systems, undergoing a violent burst of star formation. These galaxies offer us a unique opportunity to investigate collective star formation and its effects on galaxy evolution in a relatively simple environment. Spatially resolved spectrophotometric studies of BCGs are essential for a better understanding of the role of starburst-driven feedback processes on the kinematical and chemical evolution of low-mass galaxies near and far. We carry out an integral field spectroscopic study of a sample of BCGs, with the aim to probe the morphology, kinematics, dust extinction, and excitation mechanisms of their warm interstellar medium. Eight BCGs were observed with the VIMOS integral field unit at the Very Large Telescope using blue and orange grisms in high resolution mode. At a spatial sampling of 0.67 per spaxel we covered about 30x30-arcsec on the sky, with a wavelength range of 4150...7400{AA}. Emission lines were fitted with a single Gaussian profiles to measure their wavelength, flux, and width. From these data we built two-dimensional maps of the continuum and the most prominent emission-lines, as well as diagnostic line ratios, extinction, and kinematic maps. An atlas of emission-line fluxes and continuum emission; ionization, interstellar extinction, and electron density maps from line ratios; velocity and velocity dispersion fields. Additionally, from integrated spectroscopy, tables of the extinction corrected line fluxes and equivalent widths, diagnostic-line ratios, physical parameters and abundances for the brightest star-forming knots and for the whole galaxy.
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