Discovery of a Group of Star-Forming Dwarf Galaxies in Abell 1367

We describe the properties of a remarkable group of actively star-forming dwarf galaxies and HII galaxies in the Abell 1367 cluster, which were discovered in a large-scale H-alpha imaging survey of the cluster. Approximately 30 H-alpha-emitting knots were identified in a region approximately 150 kpc across, in the vicinity of the spiral galaxies NGC 3860, CGCG 97-125 and CGCG 97-114. Follow-up imaging and spectroscopy reveals that some of the knots are associated with previously uncataloged dwarf galaxies (M_B = -15.8 to -16.5), while others appear to be isolated HII galaxies or intergalactic HII regions. Radial velocities obtained for several of the knots show that they are physically associated with a small group or subcluster including CGCG 97-114 and CGCG 97-125. No comparable concentration of emission-line objects has been found elsewhere in any of the eight northern Abell clusters surveyed to date. The strong H-alpha emission in the objects and their high spatial density argue against this being a group of normal, unperturbed dwarf galaxies. Emission-line spectra of several of the knots also show some to be anomalously metal-rich relative to their luminosities. The results suggest that many of these objects were formed or triggered by tidal interactions or mergers involving CGCG 97-125 and other members of the group. A Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope HI map of the region shows direct evidence for tidal interactions in the group. These objects may be related to the tidal dwarf galaxies found in some interacting galaxy pairs, merger remnants, and compact groups. They could also represent evolutionary precursors to the class of isolated ultracompact dwarf galaxies that have been identified in the Fornax cluster.