DISCOVERY OF A CLOSE PAIR OF FAINT DWARF GALAXIES IN THE HALO OF CENTAURUS A
- Texas Tech University, Physics Department, Box 41051, Lubbock, TX 79409-1051 (United States)
- Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States)
- UCO/Lick Observatory, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (United States)
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112 (United States)
- Observatories of the Carnegie Institution for Science, 813 Santa Barbara Street, Pasadena, CA 91101 (United States)
- Michigan State University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, East Lansing, MI 48824 (United States)
As part of the Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS), we report the discovery of a pair of faint dwarf galaxies (CenA-MM-Dw1 and CenA-MM-Dw2) at a projected distance of ∼90 kpc from the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 5128 (CenA). We measure a tip of the red giant branch distance to each dwarf, finding D = 3.63 ± 0.41 Mpc for CenA-MM-Dw1 and D = 3.60 ± 0.41 Mpc for CenA-MM-Dw2, both of which are consistent with the distance to NGC 5128. A qualitative analysis of the color-magnitude diagrams indicates stellar populations consisting of an old, metal-poor red giant branch (≳12 Gyr, [Fe/H] ∼ –1.7 to –1.9). In addition, CenA-MM-Dw1 seems to host an intermediate-age population as indicated by its candidate asymptotic giant branch stars. The derived luminosities (M{sub V} = –10.9 ± 0.3 for CenA-MM-Dw1 and –8.4 ± 0.6 for CenA-MM-Dw2) and half-light radii (r{sub h} = 1.4 ± 0.04 kpc for CenA-MM-Dw1 and 0.36 ± 0.08 kpc for CenA-MM-Dw2) are consistent with those of Local Group dwarfs. CenA-MM-Dw1's low central surface brightness (μ {sub V,} {sub 0} = 27.3 ± 0.1 mag arcsec{sup –2}) places it among the faintest and most extended M31 satellites. Most intriguingly, CenA-MM-Dw1 and CenA-MM-Dw2 have a projected separation of only 3 arcmin (∼3 kpc): we are possibly observing the first, faint satellite of a satellite in an external group of galaxies.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364502
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 795, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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