AVOCADO: A Virtual Observatory Census to Address Dwarfs Origins
  Dwarf galaxies are by far the most abundant of all galaxy types, yet their
properties are still poorly understood -especially due to the observational
challenge that their intrinsic faintness represents. AVOCADO aims at
establishing firm conclusions on their formation and evolution by constructing
a homogeneous, multiwavelength dataset for a statistically significant sample
of several thousand nearby dwarfs (-18 < Mi < -14). Using public data and
Virtual Observatory tools, we have built GALEX+SDSS+2MASS spectral energy
distributions that are fitted by a library of single stellar population models.
Star formation rates, stellar masses, ages and metallicities are further
complemented with structural parameters that can be used to classify them
morphologically. This unique dataset, coupled with a detailed characterization
of each dwar's environment, allows for a fully comprehensive investigation of
their origins and to track the (potential) evolutionary paths between the
different dwarf types.
