Star forming dwarf galaxies are by far the most abundant type of galaxies in the local Universe. They also lie at the base of the hierarchical structure formation ladder – as they later merge into larger halos. Understanding the baryon cycle in these galaxies is critical towards solving the major mismatches between observations and simulations of structure formation.
Empirically constraining the relationship between gas and star formation in these galaxies remains challenging though, given their faintness across all observed wavelengths. I will describe our efforts to empirically quantify the relation between gas and star formation using the 21 cm emission line from atomic hydrogen (HI) as a tracer of gas, not only in dwarfs but also in the HI-dominated outskirts of spirals.
SAP