Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope observations of Wolf-Rayet dwarf galaxy
  Mrk 996
  The Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope (DFOT) is a 1.3 meter aperture optical
telescope, recently installed at Devasthal, Nainital. We present here the first
results using an \Ha filter with this telescope on a Wolf-Rayet dwarf galaxy
Mrk 996. The instrumental response and the \Ha sensitivity obtained with the
telescope are $(3.3 \pm 0.3)\times 10^{-15} (erg s^{-1} cm^{-2})/(counts
s^{-1})$ and $7.5\times10^{-17} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2} arcsec^{-2}$ respectively.
The \Ha flux and the equivalent width for Mrk~996 are estimated as $(132 \pm
37)\times 10^{-14} erg s^{-1} cm^{-2}$ and $\sim$96 $\mathring{A}$
respectively. The star formation rate is estimated as $0.4\pm0.1
M_\odot$yr$^{-1}$. Mrk~996 deviates from the radio-FIR correlation known for
normal star forming galaxies with a deficiency in its radio continuum. The
ionized gas as traced by \Ha emission is found in a disk shape which is
misaligned with respect to the old stellar disk. This misalignment is
indicative of a recent tidal interaction in the galaxy. We believe that
galaxy-galaxy tidal interaction is the main cause of the WR phase in Mrk~996.
