Structure and Evolution of Nearby UV-bright Starburst Galaxies

Nearby (D < 100 Mpc) luminous blue starburst galaxies frequently show morphological evidence for recent involvement in mild collisions, or minor mergers where the disk survives. As a consequence UV-bright starbursts are preferentially seen in near face-on galaxies, and the postburst systems may become star-forming late-type galaxies. If this starburst evolutionary channel is important at moderate redshifts, then descendants of the faint blue galaxies could be the very common Sm-Sd field galaxies.