Heckman et al .
( 2005 ) used the Galaxy Evolution Explorer ( GALEX ) UV imaging survey to show that there exists a rare population of nearby compact UV-luminous galaxies ( UVLGs ) that closely resembles high redshift Lyman break galaxies ( LBGs ) .
We present HST images in the UV , optical , and H \alpha , and resimulate them at the depth and resolution of the GOODS/UDF fields to show that the morphologies of UVLGs are also similar to those of LBGs .
Our sample of 8 LBG analogs thus provides detailed insight into the connection between star formation and LBG morphology .
Faint tidal features or companions can be seen in all of the rest-frame optical images , suggesting that the starbursts are the result of a merger or interaction .
The UV/optical light is dominated by unresolved ( \sim 100-300 pc ) super starburst regions ( SSBs ) .
A detailed comparison with the galaxies Haro 11 and VV 114 at z = 0.02 indicates that the SSBs themselves consist of diffuse stars and ( super ) star clusters .
The structural features revealed by the new HST images occur on very small physical scales and are thus not detectable in images of high redshift LBGs , except in a few cases where they are magnified by gravitational lensing .
We propose , therefore , that LBGs are mergers of gas-rich , relatively low-mass ( M _ { * } \sim 10 ^ { 10 } M _ { \odot } ) systems , and that the mergers trigger the formation of SSBs .
If galaxies at high redshifts are dominated by SSBs , then the faint end slope of the luminosity function is predicted to have slope \alpha \sim 2 .
Our results are the most direct confirmation to date of models that predict that the main mode of star formation in the early universe was highly collisional .