Are There Local Analogs of Lyman Break Galaxies

To make direct comparisons in the rest-frame far-ultraviolet (FUV) between LBGs at z ∼ 3 and more local star-forming galaxies, we use HST/STIS to image a set of 12 nearby (z < 0.05) Hii galaxies in the FUV, and a set of 14 luminous compact blue galaxies (LCBGs) at moderate redshift (z ∼ 0.5) in the NUV, corresponding to the rest-frame FUV. We then subject both sets of galaxy images and those of LBGs at z ∼ 3 to the same morphological and structural analysis. We find many qualitative and quantitative similarities between the rest-frame FUV characteristics of distant LBGs and of the more nearby starburst samples, including general morphologies, sizes, asymmetries, and concentrations. Along with some kinematic similarities, this implies that nearby Hii galaxies and LCBGs may be reasonable local analogs of distant Lyman break galaxies.