| Abstract | We present evidence for the existence of an old stellar halo in the blue compact dwarf galaxy VII Zw 403. VII Zw 403 is the first blue compact dwarf galaxy for which a clear spatial segregation of the resolved stellar content into a core-halo structure is detected. Multicolor Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 (HST/WFPC2) observations indicate that active star formation occurs in the central region, but is strikingly absent at large radii. Instead, a globular-cluster-like red giant branch suggests the presence of an old (>10 Gyr) and metal-poor (<[Fe/H]>=-1.92) stellar population in the halo. While the vast majority of blue compact dwarf galaxies have been recognized to possess halos of red color in ground-based surface photometry, our observations of VII Zw 403 establish for the first time a direct correspondence between a red halo color and the presence of old, red giant stars. If the halos of blue compact dwarf galaxies are all home to such ancient stellar populations, then the fossil record conflicts with delayed-formation scenarios for dwarfs. Based on observations made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained and supported in part through grant AR-06404.01-95A from the Space Telescope Science Institute, which is operated by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., under NASA contract NAS5-26555. |
