Program: GN-2010B-Q-106

We propose to obtain GMOS spectroscopy for possible transition dwarf galaxies in the outskirts of the Perseus Cluster down to M_B = -13. Using this spectroscopy, we will confirm cluster membership for potential cluster members identified from HST/WFPC2 imaging, and calculate the ages and metallicities for the brighter dwarfs by comparing the strengths of absorption lines to stellar population models. These observations compliment our existing Keck/LRIS spectroscopy for dwarfs in the core of Perseus (Penny & Conselice 2008). The candidate transition dwarfs have, on average, more disturbed structures than those in the core, but lie on the same red sequence. This is consistant with these objects being "transition dwarfs" i.e. dwarfs in the process of transforming from late-type to early-type as they infall into the cluster. This will allow us to compare the ages and metallicities for cluster dwarfs accross a range of environmental density, and test the hypothesis that dwarfs are the remnants of infalling galaxies accreted by the cluster, stripped of star forming material via processes such as harassment and ram pressure stripping. In addition, we will mesaure the faint-end slope of the luminosity function to a high accuracy, and look for any environmental dependence of this slope.