Discovery of a cold stellar stream in the ATLAS DR1 data

Koposov, S.E.; Irwin, M.; Belokurov, V.; Gonzales-Solares, E.; Kupcu Yoldas, A.; Lewis, J.; Metcalfe, N.; Shanks, T.

Abstract

We report the discovery of a narrow stellar stream crossing the constellations of Sculptor and Fornax in the Southern celestial hemisphere. The portion of the stream detected in the Data Release 1 photometry of the ATLAS survey is at least 12° long, while its width is ≈0 ∘.25. The colour–magnitude diagram of this halo sub-structure is consistent with a metal-poor [Fe/H] ≲ −1.4 stellar population located at a heliocentric distance of 20 ± 2 kpc. There are three globular clusters that could tentatively be associated with the stream: NGC 7006, NGC 7078 (M15) and Pyxis, but NGC 7006 and 7078 seem to have proper motions incompatible with the stream orbit.

Citation

Koposov, S., Irwin, M., Belokurov, V., Gonzales-Solares, E., Kupcu Yoldas, A., Lewis, J., …Shanks, T. (2014). Discovery of a cold stellar stream in the ATLAS DR1 data. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters, 442(1), L85-L89. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu060

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 24, 2014
• Publication Date: Jul 21, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jun 2, 2014
• Publicly Available Date: May 21, 2015
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-3933
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 442
• Issue: 1
• Pages: L85-L89
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu060
• Keywords: Galaxy: fundamental parameters, Galaxy: halo, Galaxy: kinematics and dynamics.
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1427373
• Related Public URLs: http://ukads.nottingham.ac.uk/abs/2014arXiv1403.3409K