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Recent observations have reignited interest in a population of dwarf galaxies that are large and diffuse for their mass, often called ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs). However, the origin and evolution of these mass–size outliers and the role of the environment are still unclear. Using the exquisitely deep and wide Hyper Suprime-Cam Strategic Survey images, we search for ultra-puffy galaxies (UPGs), defined as being 1.5 σ larger than the average size for their mass, around Milky Way–like galaxies. We present the sizes and radial distributions of mass–size outliers and derive their quenched fraction to explore the impact of the environment. Surprisingly, despite being outliers in size, the UPGs have a similar quenched fraction as normal-sized satellites of Milky Way analogs in both observations and simulations, suggesting that quenching is not tied to being a mass–size outlier. The quenched fraction is higher for the UPGs associated with redder hosts, as well as those that are closer to the host in projection. In contrast, the UDGs are overall redder and more quiescent compared with normal satellites. We show that the classic definition of UDGs is heavily weighted toward quenched galaxies and thus cannot be used for a study of quenching of mass–size outliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large diffuse galaxies are hard to find, but understanding the environments where they live, their numbers, and ultimately their origins, is of intense interest and importance for galaxy formation and evolution. Using Subaru's Hyper Suprime-Cam Strategic Survey Program, we perform a systematic search for low surface brightness galaxies and present novel and effective methods for detecting and modeling them. As a case study, we surveyed 922 Milky Way analogs in the nearby Universe (0.01 < z < 0.04) and built a large sample of satellite galaxies that are outliers in the mass–size relation. These "ultra-puffy" galaxies (UPGs), defined to be 1.5 σ above the average mass–size relation, represent the tail of the satellite size distribution. We find that each MW analog hosts N UPG = 0.31 ± 0.05 UPGs on average, which is consistent with but slightly lower than the observed abundance at this halo mass in the Local Volume. We also construct a sample of ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) in MW analogs and find an abundance of N UDG = 0.44 ± 0.05 per host. With literature results, we confirm that the UDG abundance scales with the host halo mass following a sublinear power law. We argue that our definition of UPGs, which is based on the mass–size relation, is more physically motivated than the common definition of UDGs, which depends on the surface brightness and size cuts and thus yields different surface mass density cuts for quenched and star-forming galaxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Though smooth, extended spheroidal stellar outskirts have long been observed around nearby dwarf galaxies, it is unclear whether dwarfs generically host an extended stellar halo. We use imaging from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) to measure the shapes of dwarf galaxies out to four effective radii for a sample of 6758 dwarfs at 0.005 < z < 0.2 and 107.0 < M⋆/M⊙ < 109.6. We find that dwarfs are slightly triaxial, with (where the ellipsoid is characterized by three principal semiaxes constrained by C ≤ B ≤ A). At M⋆ > 108.5M⊙, the galaxies grow from thick disk-like at one effective radius toward the spheroidal extreme at four effective radii. We also see that although blue dwarfs are, on average, characterized by thinner disks than red dwarfs, both blue and red dwarfs grow more spheroidal as a function of radius. This relation also holds true for a comparison between field and satellite dwarfs. This uniform trend toward relatively spheroidal shapes as a function of radius is consistent with an in situ formation mechanism for stellar outskirts around low-mass galaxies, in agreement with proposed models where star formation feedback produces round stellar outskirts around dwarfs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We use the low surface brightness galaxy (LSBG) samples created from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (781 galaxies), the Dark Energy Survey (20977 galaxies), and the Legacy Survey (selected via H i detection in the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA Survey, 188 galaxies) to infer the intrinsic shape distribution of the LSBG population. To take into account the effect of the surface brightness cuts employed when constructing LSBG samples, we simultaneously model both the projected ellipticity and the apparent surface brightness in our shape inference. We find that the LSBG samples are well characterized by oblate spheroids, with no significant difference between red and blue LSBGs. This inferred shape distribution is in good agreement with similar inferences made for ultra-diffuse cluster galaxy samples, indicating that environment does not play a key role in determining the intrinsic shape of LSBGs. We also find some evidence that LSBGs are more thickened than similarly massive high surface brightness dwarfs. We compare our results to intrinsic shape measures from contemporary cosmological simulations, and find that the observed LSBG intrinsic shapes place considerable constraints on the formation path of such galaxies. In particular, LSBG production via the migration of star formation to large radii produces intrinsic shapes in good agreement with our observational findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We increase the sample of ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs) in lower-density environments with characterized globular cluster (GC) populations using new Hubble Space Telescope observations of nine UDGs in group environments. While the bulk of our UDGs have GC abundances consistent with normal dwarf galaxies, two of these UDGs have excess GC populations. These two UDGs both have GC luminosity functions consistent with higher surface brightness galaxies and cluster UDGs. We then combine our nine objects with previous studies to create a catalog of UDGs with analyzed GC populations that spans a uniquely diverse range of environments. We use this catalog to examine broader trends in the GC populations of low stellar mass galaxies. The highest GC abundances are found in cluster UDGs, but whether cluster UDGs are actually more extreme requires the study of many more UDGs in groups. We find a possible positive correlation between GC abundance and stellar mass, and between GC abundance and galaxy size at fixed stellar mass. However, we see no significant relation between stellar mass and galaxy size, over our limited stellar mass range. We consider possible origins of the correlation between GC abundance and galaxy size, including the possibility that these two galaxy properties are both dependent on the galaxy dark matter halo, or that they are related through baryonic processes like internal feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]