Using the Green Bank Telescope to Observe and Analyze Low Surface Brightness Galaxies

Low surface brightness galaxies (LSBGs) are very low-density galaxies, with extremely spread out stars; some of the most extreme, called ultra-diffuse galaxies, have stellar masses of dwarf galaxies but radii comparable to the Milky Way (radii of several kpcs). We remotely operated the Green Bank Telescope (GBT) to obtain radio wavelength observations of extreme LSBGs previously identified through the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) with the 8.2m Subaru Telescope. We use these observations to determine the distances to these sources, as well as to constrain the amount of hydrogen gas they contain. Currently, we are using GBTIDL coding software to analyze these sources: removing radio interference from the data, and instrumental effects. By determining the distances to the sources, we are able to better classify them. Further, measuring their hydrogen gas contents may indicate whether or not their extreme surface brightness is due to extreme suppression of star formation, or other mechanisms - helping us better understand how they formed and why they are so low surface brightness