Program: GS-2019A-Q-108

Dwarf galaxies, by definition, have shallow potential wells, which makes them sensitive probes of environmental mechanisms that drive galaxy evolution. Dwarf early-type galaxies (ETGs) are those dwarfs which have ceased forming stars and represent the final stages of galaxy evolution at low masses. The study of these objects in the local universe therefore offers us a window into environmental effects that operated at earlier epochs. Recently, Liu et al. discovered that the chemistries of stars in dwarf ETGs of the Virgo cluster correlates with their location therein and specific frequency of globular clusters. However, their limited sample size obstructs a robust interpretation of these trends. We thus request 35.75h of GMOS-IFU time to observe the centers of 20 more dwarf early-type galaxies (ETGs) within the Virgo galaxy cluster. From these data we will extract integrated blue-optical spectroscopy for the central field stars and nuclear star cluster of each galaxy, which will allow us to deduce fundamental properties of the stellar populations that comprise both galactic components (e.g. chemical abundances). Furthermore, when coupled with our high-resolution imaging from HST/ACS and wide-field imaging from CFHT/MegaCam, we will be able to ascertain the exact relationships between the stars spread throughout the full volume of these galaxies, from their central regions to their outermost globular clusters. This new spectroscopy will allow us to discriminate between competing evolutionary models for this galactic species and more fully address the role played by environment and dark matter halos therein.