THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101

Merritt, Allison; Van Dokkum, Pieter; Abraham, Roberto

doi:10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L37

Title: THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101

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Abstract

Dwarf satellite galaxies are a key probe of dark matter and of galaxy formation on small scales and of the dark matter halo masses of their central galaxies. They have very low surface brightness, which makes it difficult to identify and study them outside of the Local Group. We used a low surface brightness-optimized telescope, the Dragonfly Telephoto Array, to search for dwarf galaxies in the field of the massive spiral galaxy M101. We identify seven large, low surface brightness objects in this field, with effective radii of 10-30 arcseconds and central surface brightnesses of μ {sub g} ∼ 25.5-27.5 mag arcsec{sup –2}. Given their large apparent sizes and low surface brightnesses, these objects would likely be missed by standard galaxy searches in deep fields. Assuming the galaxies are dwarf satellites of M101, their absolute magnitudes are in the range –11.6 ≲ M{sub V} ≲ –9.3 and their effective radii are 350 pc-1.3 kpc. Their radial surface brightness profiles are well fit by Sersic profiles with a very low Sersic index (n ∼ 0.3-0.7). The properties of the sample are similar to those of well-studied dwarf galaxies in the Local Group, such as Sextans I and Phoenix. Distance measurements are requiredmore »« less

Authors:

Merritt, Allison; Van Dokkum, Pieter ^[1]; Abraham, Roberto ^[2]

Department of Astronomy, Yale University, 260 Whitney Avenue, New Haven, CT 06511 (United States)
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, University of Toronto, 50 St. George Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3H4 (Canada)

Publication Date:: Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014

OSTI Identifier:: 22365809

Resource Type:: Journal Article

Journal Name:: Astrophysical Journal Letters

Additional Journal Information:: Journal Volume: 787; Journal Issue: 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 2041-8205

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Subject:: 79 ASTROPHYSICS, COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY; BRIGHTNESS; COSMOLOGY; DISTANCE; GALACTIC EVOLUTION; GALAXIES; INDEXES; MASS; NONLUMINOUS MATTER; SATELLITES; SURFACES; TELESCOPES

Citation Formats


                    Merritt, Allison, Van Dokkum, Pieter, and Abraham, Roberto. THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101.  United States: N. p., 2014. 
        Web.  doi:10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L37.

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                    Merritt, Allison, Van Dokkum, Pieter, & Abraham, Roberto. THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101.  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L37

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                    Merritt, Allison, Van Dokkum, Pieter, and Abraham, Roberto. 2014.  
        "THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101".  United States.  https://doi.org/10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L37.

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@article{osti_22365809,

  title        = {THE DISCOVERY OF SEVEN EXTREMELY LOW SURFACE BRIGHTNESS GALAXIES IN THE FIELD OF THE NEARBY SPIRAL GALAXY M101},

  author       = {Merritt, Allison and Van Dokkum, Pieter and Abraham, Roberto},

  abstractNote = {Dwarf satellite galaxies are a key probe of dark matter and of galaxy formation on small scales and of the dark matter halo masses of their central galaxies. They have very low surface brightness, which makes it difficult to identify and study them outside of the Local Group. We used a low surface brightness-optimized telescope, the Dragonfly Telephoto Array, to search for dwarf galaxies in the field of the massive spiral galaxy M101. We identify seven large, low surface brightness objects in this field, with effective radii of 10-30 arcseconds and central surface brightnesses of μ {sub g} ∼ 25.5-27.5 mag arcsec{sup –2}. Given their large apparent sizes and low surface brightnesses, these objects would likely be missed by standard galaxy searches in deep fields. Assuming the galaxies are dwarf satellites of M101, their absolute magnitudes are in the range –11.6 ≲ M{sub V} ≲ –9.3 and their effective radii are 350 pc-1.3 kpc. Their radial surface brightness profiles are well fit by Sersic profiles with a very low Sersic index (n ∼ 0.3-0.7). The properties of the sample are similar to those of well-studied dwarf galaxies in the Local Group, such as Sextans I and Phoenix. Distance measurements are required to determine whether these galaxies are in fact associated with M101 or are in its foreground or background.},

  doi          = {10.1088/2041-8205/787/2/L37},

  url          = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22365809},
  journal      = {Astrophysical Journal Letters},

  issn         = {2041-8205},

  number       = 2,

  volume       = 787,

  place        = {United States},

  year         = {Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014},

  month        = {Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 EDT 2014}

}

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