W. Cerny
Six More Ultra-faint Milky Way Companions Discovered in the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey
Cerny, W.; Martínez-Vázquez, C. E.; Drlica-Wagner, A.; Pace, A. B.; Mutlu-Pakdil, B.; Li, T. S.; Riley, A. H.; Crnojević, D.; Bom, C. R.; Carballo-Bello, J. A.; Carlin, J. L.; Chiti, A.; Choi, Y.; Collins, M. L. M.; Darragh-Ford, E; Ferguson, P. S.; Geha, M.; Martínez-Delgado, D.; Massana, P.; Mau, S.; Medina, G. E.; Muñoz, R. R.; Nadler, E. O.; Noël, N. E. D.; Olsen, K. A. G.; Pieres, A.; Sakowska, J. D.; Simon, J. D.; Stringfellow, G. S.; Tollerud, E. J.; Vivas, A. K.; Walker, A. R.; Wechsler, R. H.
Authors
C. E. Martínez-Vázquez
A. Drlica-Wagner
A. B. Pace
B. Mutlu-Pakdil
T. S. Li
Dr Alex Riley alexander.riley2@durham.ac.uk
Researcher
D. Crnojević
C. R. Bom
J. A. Carballo-Bello
J. L. Carlin
A. Chiti
Y. Choi
M. L. M. Collins
E Darragh-Ford
P. S. Ferguson
M. Geha
D. Martínez-Delgado
P. Massana
S. Mau
G. E. Medina
R. R. Muñoz
E. O. Nadler
N. E. D. Noël
K. A. G. Olsen
A. Pieres
J. D. Sakowska
J. D. Simon
G. S. Stringfellow
E. J. Tollerud
A. K. Vivas
A. R. Walker
R. H. Wechsler
Abstract
We report the discovery of six ultra-faint Milky Way satellites identified through matched-filter searches conducted using Dark Energy Camera (DECam) data processed as part of the second data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration (DELVE) survey. Leveraging deep Gemini/GMOS-N imaging (for four candidates) as well as follow-up DECam imaging (for two candidates), we characterize the morphologies and stellar populations of these systems. We find that these candidates all share faint absolute magnitudes (MV ≥ −3.2 mag) and old, metal-poor stellar populations (τ > 10 Gyr, [Fe/H] < −1.4 dex). Three of these systems are more extended (r1/2 > 15 pc), while the other three are compact (r1/2 < 10 pc). From these properties, we infer that the former three systems (Boötes V, Leo Minor I, and Virgo II) are consistent with ultra-faint dwarf galaxy classifications, whereas the latter three (DELVE 3, DELVE 4, and DELVE 5) are likely ultra-faint star clusters. Using data from the Gaia satellite, we confidently measure the proper motion of Boötes V, Leo Minor I, and DELVE 4, and tentatively detect a proper-motion signal from DELVE 3 and DELVE 5; no signal is detected for Virgo II. We use these measurements to explore possible associations between the newly discovered systems and the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal, the Magellanic Clouds, and the Vast Polar Structure, finding several plausible associations. Our results offer a preview of the numerous ultra-faint stellar systems that will soon be discovered by the Vera C. Rubin Observatory and highlight the challenges of classifying the faintest stellar systems.
Citation
Cerny, W., Martínez-Vázquez, C. E., Drlica-Wagner, A., Pace, A. B., Mutlu-Pakdil, B., Li, T. S., …Wechsler, R. H. (2023). Six More Ultra-faint Milky Way Companions Discovered in the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey. Astrophysical Journal, 953(1), Article 1. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acdd78
Journal Article Type | Article |
---|---|
Acceptance Date | Jun 9, 2023 |
Online Publication Date | Jul 28, 2023 |
Publication Date | Aug 10, 2023 |
Deposit Date | Oct 25, 2023 |
Publicly Available Date | Oct 25, 2023 |
Journal | The Astrophysical Journal |
Print ISSN | 0004-637X |
Electronic ISSN | 1538-4357 |
Publisher | American Astronomical Society |
Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
Volume | 953 |
Issue | 1 |
Article Number | 1 |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/acdd78 |
Keywords | Space and Planetary Science; Astronomy and Astrophysics |
Public URL | https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1817453 |
Files
Published Journal Article
(2.2 Mb)
PDF
Licence
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Copyright Statement
© 2023. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
You might also like
An overlooked source of uncertainty in the mass of the Milky Way
(2024)
Journal Article
AuriDESI: mock catalogues for the DESI Milky Way Survey
(2024)
Journal Article
Downloadable Citations
About Durham Research Online (DRO)
Administrator e-mail: dro.admin@durham.ac.uk
This application uses the following open-source libraries:
SheetJS Community Edition
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
PDF.js
Apache License Version 2.0 (http://www.apache.org/licenses/)
Font Awesome
SIL OFL 1.1 (http://scripts.sil.org/OFL)
MIT License (http://opensource.org/licenses/mit-license.html)
CC BY 3.0 ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/)
Powered by Worktribe © 2025
Advanced Search