A Complete Spectroscopic Survey of the Milky Way Satellite Segue 1: The Darkest Galaxy
Joshua D. Simon, Marla Geha, Quinn E. Minor, Gregory D. Martinez, Evan N. Kirby, James S. Bullock, Manoj Kaplinghat, Louis E. Strigari, Beth Willman, Philip I. … 展开作者
Joshua D. Simon, Marla Geha, Quinn E. Minor, Gregory D. Martinez, Evan N. Kirby, James S. Bullock, Manoj Kaplinghat, Louis E. Strigari, Beth Willman, Philip I. Choi, Erik J. Tollerud, Joe Wolf
备注：
24 pages, 4 tables, 11 figures (10 in color). Submitted for publication in ApJ. V3 revised according to comments from the referee
We present the results of a comprehensive Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopic survey of the ultra-faint Milky Way satellite galaxy Segue 1. We have obtained velocity measurements for 98.2% of the stars within 67 pc (10 arcmin, or 2.3 half-light radii) of the center of Segue 1 that have colors and magnitudes consistent with membership, down to a magnitude limit of r=21.7. Based on photometric, kinematic, and metallicity information, we identify 71 stars as probable Segue 1 members, including some as far out as 87 pc. After correcting for the influence of binary stars using repeated velocity measurements, we determine a velocity dispersion of 3.7^{+1.4}_{-1.1} km/s, with a corresponding mass within the half-light radius of 5.8^{+8.2}_{-3.1} x 10^5 Msun. The stellar kinematics of Segue 1 require very high mass-to-light ratios unless the system is far from dynamical equilibrium, even if the period distribution of unresolved binary stars is skewed toward implausibly short periods. With a total luminosity less than that of a single bright red giant and a V-band mass-to-light ratio of 3400 Msun/Lsun, Segue 1 is the darkest galaxy currently known. We critically re-examine recent claims that Segue 1 is a tidally disrupting star cluster and that kinematic samples are contaminated by the Sagittarius stream. The extremely low metallicities ([Fe/H] < -3) of two Segue 1 stars and the large metallicity spread among the members demonstrate conclusively that Segue 1 is a dwarf galaxy, and we find no evidence in favor of tidal effects. We also show that contamination by the Sagittarius stream has been overestimated. Segue 1 has the highest measured dark matter density of any known galaxy and will therefore be a prime testing ground for dark matter physics and galaxy formation on small scales.
We introduce a comprehensive analysis of multi-epoch stellar line-of-sight velocities to determine the intrinsic velocity dispersion of the ultrafaint satellites of the Milky Way. Our method includes a simultaneous Bayesian analysis of both membership probabilities and the contribution of binary orbital motion to the observed velocity dispersion within a 14-parameter likelihood. We apply our method to the Segue 1 dwarf galaxy and conclude that Segue 1 is a dark-matter-dominated galaxy at high probability with an intrinsic velocity dispersion of 3.7^{+1.4}_{-1.1} km/sec. The dark matter halo re…
We use new kinematic data from the ultra-faint Milky Way satellite Segue 1 to model its dark matter distribution and derive upper limits on the dark matter annihilation cross-section. Using gamma-ray flux upper limits from the Fermi satellite and MAGIC, we determine cross-section exclusion regions for dark matter annihilation into a variety of different particles including charged leptons. We show that these exclusion regions are beginning to probe the regions of interest for a dark matter interpretation of the electron and positron fluxes from PAMELA, Fermi, and HESS, and that future observat…
In recent years, massive new spectroscopic data sets, such as the over half million stellar spectra obtained during the course of SDSS (in particular its sub-survey SEGUE), have provided the quantitative detail required to formulate a coherent story of the assembly and evolution of the Milky Way. The disk and halo systems of our Galaxy have been shown to be both more complex, and more interesting, than previously thought. Here we concentrate on the halo system of the Milky Way. New data from SDSS/SEGUE has revealed that the halo system comprises at least two components, the inner halo and the …
We investigate the kinematic and photometric properties of the Segue 3 Milky Way companion using Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy and Magellan/IMACS g and r-band imaging. Using maximum likelihood methods to analyze the photometry, we study the structure and stellar population of Segue 3. We find the half-light radius of Segue 3 is 26" +/- 5" (2.1 +/- 0.4 pc, for a distance of 17 kpc) and the absolute magnitude is a mere M_V = 0.0 +/- 0.8 mag, making Segue 3 the least luminous old stellar system known. We find Segue 3 to be consistent with a single stellar population, with an age of 12.0 +1.5/-0.4 Gyr …
We explore the Triangulum-Andromeda (TriAnd) overdensity in the SPLASH (Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo) and SEGUE (the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration) spectroscopic surveys. Milky Way main sequence turn-off stars in the SPLASH survey reveal that the TriAnd overdensity and the recently discovered PAndAS stream (Martin et al. 2014) share a common heliocentric distance (D ~ 20 kpc), position on the sky, and line-of-sight velocity (V_GSR ~ 50 km/s). Similarly, A-type, giant, and main sequence turn-off stars selected from the SEGUE su…
We present the first proper motion measurement for an ultra-faint dwarf spheroidal galaxy, Segue 1, using SDSS and LBC data as the first and second epochs separated by a baseline of $\sim 10$ years. We obtain a motion of $μ_α\,\cos(δ) = -0.37\pm0.57$ mas yr$^{-1}$ and $μ_δ =-3.39\pm0.58$ mas yr$^{-1}$. Combining this with the known line-of-sight velocity, this corresponds to a Galactocentric V$_\mathrm{rad}=84\pm9$ and V$_\mathrm{tan}=164^{+66}_{-55}$ km s$^{-1}$. Applying Milky Way halo masses between 0.8 to 1.6$\times 10^{12}$ M$_\odot$ results in an apocenter at 33.9$^{+21.7}_{-7.4}$ kpc an…
It is now known that minor mergers are capable of creating structure in the phase-space distribution of their host galaxy's disc. In order to search for such imprints in the Milky Way, we analyse the SEGUE F/G-dwarf and the Schuster et al. (2006) stellar samples. We find similar features in these two completely independent stellar samples, consistent with the predictions of a Milky Way minor-merger event. We next apply the same analyses to high-resolution, idealised N-body simulations of the interaction between the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy and the Milky Way. The energy distributions of stellar…
Low luminosity dwarf galaxies provide stringent constraints on the nature of dark matter. Establishing these constraints depends on precise kinematic measurements of individual stars. In this overview for non-specialists, we describe current and future prospects for three unique tests of dark matter using resolved stellar kinematics in low luminosity galaxies: the overall number of satellite galaxies around the Milky Way, dark-matter annihilation radiation from dwarf galaxies, and their internal density profiles. We then assess the prospects for meaningfully testing theories of dark matter bas…
We construct the rotation curve of the Milky Way in the extended solar neighbourhood using a sample of SEGUE (Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration) G-dwarfs. We investigate the rotation curve shape for the presence of any peculiarities just outside the solar radius as has been reported by some authors. We approach the problem in a framework of classical Jeans analysis. Using the most recent data from RAVE (RAdial Velocity Experiment), we determine the solar peculiar velocity and the radial scalelengths for the three populations of different metallicities representing the …
We present an extensive search for RR Lyrae stars in and around the ultra-faint Milky Way companions Segue 2 and Segue 3. The former (M_V = -2.5, Belokurov et al. 2009) appears to be an extremely faint dwarf galaxy companion of the Milky Way. The latter (M_V = 0.0, Fadely et al. 2011) is among the faintest star clusters known. We use B and V band time-series imaging obtained at the WIYN 0.9 meter telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to search for RR Lyrae in these objects. In our Segue 2 observations, we present a previously unknown fundamental mode (RRab) RR Lyrae star with a period of…
Although originally conceived as primarily an extragalactic survey, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-I), and its extensions SDSS-II and SDSS-III, continue to have a major impact on our understanding of the formation and evolution of our host galaxy, the Milky Way. The sub-survey SEGUE: Sloan Extension for Galactic Exploration and Understanding, executed as part of SDSS-II, obtained some 3500 square degrees of additional ugriz imaging, mostly at lower Galactic latitudes, in order to better sample the disk systems of the Galaxy. Most importantly, it obtained over 240,000 medium-resolution spec…
We analyze the anisotropy profile of the Milky Way's smooth, diffuse stellar halo using SDSS/SEGUE blue horizontal branch stars and SDSS/SEGUE and LAMOST K giants. These intrinsically luminous stars allow us to probe the halo to approximately 100 kpc from the Galactic center. Line-of-sight velocities, distances, metallicities, and proper motions are available for all stars via SDSS/SEGUE, LAMOST, and Gaia, and we use these data to construct a full 7D set consisting of positions, space motions, and metallicity. We remove substructure from our samples using integrals of motion based on the metho…
The history of the Milky Way is encoded in the spatial distributions, kinematics, and chemical enrichment patterns of its resolved stellar populations. SEGUE-2 and APOGEE, two of the four surveys that comprise SDSS-III (the Sloan Digital Sky Survey III), will map these distributions and enrichment patterns at optical and infrared wavelengths, respectively. Using the existing SDSS spectrographs, SEGUE-2 will obtain spectra of 140,000 stars in selected high-latitude fields to a magnitude limit r ~ 19.5, more than doubling the sample of distant halo stars observed in the SDSS-II survey SEGUE (the…
We apply the optimal filter technique to Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometry around Segue 1 and find that the outer parts of the cluster are distorted. There is strong evidence for ~ 1 degree elongations of extra-tidal stars, extending both eastwards and southwestwards of the cluster. The extensions have similar differential Hess diagrams to Segue 1. A Kolmogorov-Smirnov test suggests a high probability that both come from the same parent distribution. The location of Segue 1 is close to crossings of the tidal wraps of the Sagittarius stream. By extracting blue horizontal branch stars from Slo…
We announce the discovery of a new Milky Way satellite Segue 2 found in the data of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE). We followed this up with deeper imaging and spectroscopy on the Multiple Mirror Telescope. From this, we derive a luminosity of M_v = -2.5, a half-light radius of 34 pc and a systemic velocity of -40$ km/s. Our MMT data also provides evidence for a stream around Segue 2 at a similar heliocentric velocity, and the SEGUE data show that it is also present in neighboring fields. We resolve the velocity dispersion of Segue 2 as 3.4 km/s and the …
We measure the two-point correlation function of G-dwarf stars within 1-3 kpc of the Sun in multiple lines-of-sight using the Schlesinger et al. G-dwarf sample from the SDSS SEGUE survey. The shapes of the correlation functions along individual SEGUE lines-of-sight depend sensitively on both the stellar-density gradients and the survey geometry. We fit smooth disk galaxy models to our SEGUE clustering measurements, and obtain strong constraints on the thin- and thick-disk components of the Milky Way. Specifically, we constrain the values of the thin- and thick-disk scale heights with 3% and 2%…
We present atmospheric parameters and abundances for chemical elements from carbon to barium in metal-poor stars in Segue 1 (seven stars), Coma Berenices (three stars), and Triangulum II (one star) ultra-faint dwarf galaxies (UFDs). The effective temperatures rely on new photometric observations in the visible and infra-red bands, obtained with the 2.5 m telescope of the SAI MSU Caucasian observatory. Abundances of up to fourteen chemical elements were derived under the non-local thermodynamic equilibrium (NLTE) line formation, and LTE abundances were obtained for up to five more elements. For…
We combine the estimated metallicities [Fe/H], abundances [α/Fe], positions and motions of a sample of 27,500 local (7<R/kpc<9, 0.5<|z|/kpc<2.5) SDSS/SEGUE G-type dwarf stars to investigate the chemo-orbital properties of the Milky Way's disk around the Sun. When we derive the orbital properties reflecting angular momentum, circularity, and thickness as function of [α/Fe] vs. [Fe/H], we find that there is a smooth variation with [α/Fe], a proxy for age. At the same time, the orbital properties of the old stars with [α/Fe]$\gtrsim$0.25 do show a transition with [Fe/H]: below [Fe/H]$\simeq$-0.6 …
Segue 2, discovered by Belokurov et al. (2009), is a galaxy with a luminosity of only 900 L_sun. We present Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of 25 members of Segue 2--a threefold increase in spectroscopic sample size. The velocity dispersion is too small to be measured with our data. The upper limit with 90% (95%) confidence is sigma_v < 2.2 (2.6) km/s, the most stringent limit for any galaxy. The corresponding limit on the mass within the 3-D half-light radius (46 pc) is M_1/2 < 1.5 (2.1) x 10^5 M_sun. Segue 2 is the least massive galaxy known. We identify Segue 2 as a galaxy rather than a star clust…
We map the stellar structure of the Galactic thick disk and halo by applying color-magnitude diagram (CMD) fitting to photometric data from the SEGUE survey, allowing, for the first time, a comprehensive analysis of their structure at both high and low latitudes using uniform SDSS photometry. Incorporating photometry of all relevant stars simultaneously, CMD fitting bypasses the need to choose single tracer populations. Using old stellar populations of differing metallicities as templates we obtain a sparse 3D map of the stellar mass distribution at |Z|>1 kpc. Fitting a smooth Milky Way model …
We characterise the radial density, metallicity and flattening profile of the Milky Way's stellar halo, based on the large sample of 1757 spectroscopically confirmed giant stars from SDSS/SEGUE-2 after excising stars that were algorithmically attributed to apparent halo substructure (including the Sagittarius stream). Compared to BHB stars or RR Lyrae, giants are more readily understood tracers of the overall halo star population, with less bias in age or metallicity. The well-characterized selection function of the sample enables forward modelling of those data, based on ellipsoidal stellar d…
The observed radial and vertical metallicity distribution of old stars in the Milky Way disk provides a powerful constraint on the chemical enrichment and dynamical history of the disk. We present the radial metallicity gradient, Δ[Fe/H]/ΔR, as a function of height above the plane, |Z|, using 7010 main sequence turnoff stars observed by the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) survey. The sample consists of mostly old thin and thick disk stars, with a minimal contribution from the stellar halo, in the region 6 < R < 16 kpc, 0.15 < |Z| < 1.5 kpc. The data reveal th…
We report the discovery of two new Milky Way satellites in the neighboring constellations of Pisces and Pegasus identified in data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Pisces II, an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy lies at the distance of ~180 kpc, some 15 degrees away from the recently detected Pisces I. Segue 3, an ultra-faint star cluster lies at the distance of 16 kpc. We use deep follow-up imaging obtained with the 4-m Mayall telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to derive their structural parameters. Pisces II has a half-light radius of ~60 pc, while Segue 3 is twenty times smaller at only 3…
We employ measurements of the [alpha/Fe] ratio derived from low-resolution (R~2000) spectra of 17,277 G-type dwarfs from the SEGUE survey to separate them into likely thin- and thick-disk subsamples. Both subsamples exhibit strong gradients of orbital rotational velocity with metallicity, of opposite signs, -20 to -30 km/s/dex for the thin-disk and +40 to +50 km/s/dex for the thick-disk population. The rotational velocity is uncorrelated with Galactocentric distance for the thin-disk subsample, and exhibits a small trend for the thick-disk subsample. The rotational velocity decreases with dist…
We present a search for new members of the 300 km s$^{-1}$ stream (300S) near the dwarf galaxy Segue 1 using wide-field survey data. We identify 11 previously unknown bright stream members in the APOGEE-2 and SEGUE-1 and 2 spectroscopic surveys. Based on the spatial distribution of the high-velocity stars, we confirm for the first time that this kinematic structure is associated with a 24$^{\circ}$-long stream seen in SDSS and Pan-STARRS imaging data. The 300S stars display a metallicity range of $-2.17 < {\rm [Fe/H]} < -1.24$, with an intrinsic dispersion of 0.21$_{-0.09}^{+0.12}$ dex. They a…
We report the analysis of high-resolution, high-S/N spectra of an extremely metal-poor, extremely C-rich red giant, Seg 1-7, in the Segue 1 system - described in the literature alternatively as an unusually extended globular cluster or an ultra-faint dwarf galaxy. The radial velocity of Seg 1-7 coincides precisely with the systemic velocity of Segue 1, and its chemical abundance signature of [Fe/H] = -3.52, [C/Fe] = +2.3, [N/Fe] = +0.8, [Na/Fe] = +0.53, [Mg/Fe] = +0.94, [Al/Fe] = +0.23 and [Ba/Fe] < -1.0 is similar to that of the rare and enigmatic class of Galactic halo objects designated CEM…
We examine the α-element abundance ratio, [α/Fe], of 5620 stars, observed by the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration survey in the region 6 kpc < R < 16 kpc, 0.15 kpc < |Z| < 1.5 kpc, as a function of Galactocentric radius R and distance from the Galactic plane |Z|. Our results show that the high-α thick disk population has a short scale length (L_thick ~ 1.8 kpc) compared to the low-αpopulation, which is typically associated with the thin disk. We find that the fraction of high-α stars in the inner disk increases at large |Z|, and that high-α stars lag in rotation compa…
The SEGUE survey obtained 240,000 moderate resolution (R = 1800) spectra from 3900 - 9000 Angstroms of fainter Milky Way stars (14.0 < g < 20.3) of a wide variety of spectral types, both main sequence and evolved objects, with the goal of studying the kinematics and populations of our Galaxy and its halo. The spectra are clustered in 212 regions spaced over three-quarters of the sky. Radial velocity accuracies for stars are 4 km/s at g < 18, degrading to 15 km/s at g = 20. For stars with S/N > 10 per resolution element, stellar atmospheric parameters are estimated, including metallicity, surfa…
We find that the relative contribution of satellite galaxies accreted at high redshift to the stellar population of the Milky Way's smooth halo increases with distance, becoming observable relative to the classical smooth halo about 15 kpc from the Galactic center. In particular, we determine line-of-sight-averaged [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe] in the metal-poor main-sequence turnoff (MPMSTO) population along every Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) spectroscopic line of sight. Restricting our sample to those lines of sight along which we do not detect elements of cold …
We present 20 candidate hypervelocity stars from the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) G and K dwarf samples. Previous searches for hypervelocity stars have only focused on large radial velocities; in this study we also use proper motions to select the candidates. We determine the hypervelocity likelihood of each candidate by means of Monte Carlo simulations, considering the significant errors often associated with high proper motion stars. We find that nearly half of the candidates exceed their escape velocities with at least 98% probability. Every candidate a…
We present new SDSS and Washington photometry of the young, outer-halo stellar system, Segue 3. Combined with archival VI-observations, our most consistent results yield: $Z=0.006$, $\log(Age)=9.42$, $(m-M)_0=17.35$, $E(B-V)=0.09$, with a high binary fraction of $0.39\pm 0.05$, using the Padova models. We confirm that mass segregation has occurred, supporting the hypothesis that this cluster is being tidally disrupted. A 3-parameter King model yields a cluster radius of $r_{cl}=0.017^\circ$, a core radius of $r_{c}=0.003^\circ$, and a tidal radius of $r_t=0.04^\circ \pm 0.02^\circ$. A comparis…
By mining the data from $Gaia$ EDR3, SDSS/SEGUE DR16 and LAMOST DR8, 11 member stars of the NGC 5466 tidal stream are detected and 7 of them are newly identified. To reject contaminators, a variety of cuts are applied in sky position, color-magnitude diagram, metallicity, proper motion and radial velocity. We compare our data to a mock stream generated by modeling the cluster's disruption under a smooth Galactic potential plus the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). The concordant trends in phase-space between the model and observations imply that the stream might have been perturbed by LMC. The two…
We present an online catalog of distance determinations for $\rm 6036$ K giants, most of which are members of the Milky Way's stellar halo. Their medium-resolution spectra from SDSS/SEGUE are used to derive metallicities and rough gravity estimates, along with radial velocities. Distance moduli are derived from a comparison of each star's apparent magnitude with the absolute magnitude of empirically calibrated color-luminosity fiducials, at the observed $(g-r)_0$ color and spectroscopic [Fe/H]. We employ a probabilistic approach that makes it straightforward to properly propagate the errors in…
We present the discovery of a faint Milky Way satellite, Laevens 2/Triangulum II, found in the Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS 1) 3 pi imaging data and confirmed with follow-up wide-field photometry from the Large Binocular Cameras. The stellar system, with an absolute magnitude of M_V=-1.8 +/-0.5, a heliocentric distance of 30 +2/-2 kpc, and a half-mass radius of 34 +9/-8 pc, shows remarkable similarity to faint, nearby, small satellites such as Willman 1, Segue 1, Segue 2, and Boötes II. The discovery of Laevens 2/Triangulum II further populates the region of…
We present the vertical kinematics of stars in the Milky Way's stellar disk inferred from SDSS/SEGUE G-dwarf data, deriving the vertical velocity dispersion, σ_z, as a function of vertical height |z| and Galactocentric radius R for a set of 'mono-abundance' sub-populations of stars with very similar elemental abundances [α/Fe] and [Fe/H]. We find that all components exhibit nearly isothermal kinematics in |z|, and a slow outward decrease of the vertical velocity dispersion: σ_z (z,R|[α/Fe],[Fe/H]) ~ σ_z ([α/Fe],[Fe/H]) x \exp (-(R-R_0)/7 kpc}). The characteristic velocity dispersions of these …
The expected gamma-ray flux coming from dark matter annihilation in dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies depends on the so-called `J-factor', the integral of the squared dark matter density along the line-of-sight. We examine the degree to which estimates of J are sensitive to contamination (by foreground Milky Way stars and stellar streams) of the stellar-kinematic samples that are used to infer dark matter densities in `ultrafaint' dSphs. Applying standard kinematic analyses to hundreds of mock data sets that include varying levels of contamination, we find that mis-classified contaminants can c…
We employ abundances from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) to study the alpha-element distribution of the stellar members of the Sagittarius stream. To test the reliability of SDSS/SEGUE abundances for the study of Sagittarius, we select high-likelihood samples tracing the different components of the Milky Way, and recover known literature alpha-element distributions. Using selection criteria based on the spatial position, radial velocity, distance and colours of individual stars, we obtain a robust sample of Sagitta…
Using G dwarfs from the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) survey, we have determined a vertical metallicity gradient over a large volume of the Milky Way's disk, and examined how this gradient varies for different [a/Fe] subsamples. This sample contains over 40,000 stars with low-resolution spectroscopy over 144 lines of sight. We employ the SEGUE Stellar Parameter Pipeline (SSPP) to obtain estimates of effective temperature, surface gravity, [Fe/H], and [a/Fe] for each star and extract multiple volume-complete subsamples of approximately 1000 stars each. Based…
We estimate the fraction of F,G,K stars with close binary companions by analysing multi-epoch stellar spectra from SDSS and LAMOST for radial velocity (RV) variations. We employ a Bayesian method to infer the maximum likelihood of the fraction of binary stars with orbital periods of 1000 days or shorter, assuming a simple model distribution for a binary population with circular orbits. The overall inferred fraction of stars with such a close binary companion is 43.0% \pm 2.0% for a sample of F, G, K stars from SDSS SEGUE, and 30% \pm 8.0% in a similar sample from LAMOST. The apparent close bin…
The spatial, kinematic, and elemental-abundance structure of the Milky Way's stellar disk is complex, and has been difficult to dissect with local spectroscopic or global photometric data. Here, we develop and apply a rigorous density modeling approach for Galactic spectroscopic surveys that enables investigation of the global spatial structure of stellar sub-populations in narrow bins of [α/Fe] and [Fe/H], using 23,767 G-type dwarfs from SDSS/SEGUE. We fit models for the number density of each such mono-abundance component, properly accounting for the complex spectroscopic SEGUE sampling of t…
The Milky Way - Large Magellanic Cloud Interaction with Simulation Based Inference
University College London（伦敦大学学院）；Center for Computational Astrophysics, Flatiron Institute（计算天体物理学中心，平顿研究所）；Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian（哈佛-史密森尼天体物理中心）；University of Maryland, College Park（马里兰大学帕克分校）；The Ohio State University（俄亥俄州立大学）
We show that there is a low metallicity tidal stream that runs along l=143 deg. in the South Galactic Cap, about 34 kpc from the Sun, discovered from SEGUE stellar velocities. Since the most concentrated detections are in the Cetus constellation, and the orbital path is nearly polar, we name it the Cetus Polar Stream (CPS). Although it is spatially coincident with the Sgr dwarf trailing tidal tail at b=-70 deg., the metallicities ([Fe/H] = -2.1), ratio of blue straggler to blue horizontal branch stars, and velocities of the CPS stars differ from Sgr. Some CPS stars may contaminate previous sam…
We present evidence for the contribution of high-mass globular clusters to the stellar halo of the Galaxy. Using SDSS-II/SEGUE spectra of over 1900 G- and K-type halo giants, we identify for the first time a subset of stars with CN bandstrengths significantly larger, and CH bandstrengths lower, than the majority of halo field stars, at fixed temperature and metallicity. Since CN bandstrength inhomogeneity and the usual attendant abundance variations are presently understood as a result of star formation in globular clusters, we interpret this subset of halo giants as a result of globular clust…
We analyze subhalos in the Via Lactea II (VL2) cosmological simulation to look for correlations among their infall times and z = 0 dynamical properties. We find that the present day orbital energy is tightly correlated with the time at which subhalos last crossed into the virial radius. This energy-infall correlation provides a means to infer infall times for Milky Way satellite galaxies. Assuming that the Milky Way's assembly can be modeled by VL2, we show that the infall times of some satellites are well constrained given only their Galactocentric positions and line-of-sight velocities. The …
We identify ten -- seven for the first time -- elements of cold halo substructure (ECHOS) in the volume within 17.5 kpc of the Sun in the inner halo of the Milky Way. Our result is based on the observed spatial and radial velocity distribution of metal-poor main sequence turnoff (MPMSTO) stars in 137 Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) lines of sight. We point out that the observed radial velocity distribution is consistent with a smooth stellar component of the Milky Way's inner halo overall, but disagrees significantly at the radial velocities that correspond t…
We present a comparison of the frequencies of carbon-enhanced metal-poor (CEMP) giant and main-sequence turnoff stars, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration, with predictions from asymptotic giant-branch (AGB) mass-transfer models. We consider two initial mass functions (IMFs)-a Salpeter IMF, and a mass function with a characteristic mass of 10 solar mass. These comparisons indicate good agreement between the observed CEMP frequencies for stars with [Fe/H] > -1.5 and a Salpeter IMF, but not with an IMF having a higher char…
Quantifying the Milky Way, LMC and their interaction using all-sky kinematics of outer halo stars
University College London（伦敦大学学院）；University of Maryland, College Park（马里兰大学帕克分校）；Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian（哈佛-史密森尼天体物理中心）；Flatiron Institute（平坦研究所）
We statistically quantify the amount of substructure in the Milky Way stellar halo using a sample of 4568 halo K giant stars at Galactocentric distances ranging over 5-125 kpc. These stars have been selected photometrically and confirmed spectroscopically as K giants from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey's SEGUE project. Using a position-velocity clustering estimator (the 4distance) and a model of a smooth stellar halo, we quantify the amount of substructure in the halo, divided by distance and metallicity. Overall, we find that the halo as a whole is highly structured. We also confirm earlier wor…
Here we study the metallicity bias in the velocity dispersions, the derived quantity called anisotropy and the mean azimuthal velocity profiles of the Milky Way stellar halo using Blue Horizontal Branch (BHB) stars taken from SDSS/SEGUE survey. The comparatively metal-rich sample ([Fe/H]>-2) has prograde motion and is found to have an offset of 40 km/s in the mean azimuthal velocity with respect to a metal-poor sample ([Fe/H]<=-2) which has retrograde motion. The difference in rotation between the most metal-poor and most metal-rich population was found to be around 65 km/s. For galactocentric…
We determine the average metallicities of the elements of cold halo substructure (ECHOS) that we previously identified in the inner halo of the Milky Way within 17.5 kpc of the Sun. As a population, we find that stars kinematically associated with ECHOS are chemically distinct from the background kinematically smooth inner halo stellar population along the same Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) line of sight. ECHOS are systematically more iron-rich, but less alpha-enhanced than the kinematically-smooth component of the inner halo. ECHOS are also chemically dist…
Different stellar sub-populations of the Milky Way's stellar disk are known to have different vertical scale heights, their thickness increasing with age. Using SEGUE spectroscopic survey data, we have recently shown that mono-abundance sub-populations, defined in the [α/Fe]-[Fe/H] space, are well described by single exponential spatial-density profiles in both the radial and the vertical direction; therefore any star of a given abundance is clearly associated with a sub-population of scale height h_z. Here, we work out how to determine the stellar surface-mass density contributions at the sol…
We use ESA/Gaia astrometry together with SEGUE and LAMOST measurements of the GD-1 stellar stream to explore the improvement on the Galactic gravitational potential that these new data provide. Assuming a realistic universal model for the dark matter halo together with reasonable models of the baryonic components, we find that the orbital solutions for GD-1 require the circular velocity at the Solar radius to be $V_{\rm circ}(R_\odot) =244 \pm 4\,{\rm km\, s^{-1}}$, and also that the density flattening of the dark halo is $q_ρ=0.82^{+0.25}_{-0.13}$. The corresponding Galactic mass within 20kpc…
We use recent SEGUE spectroscopy and SDSS and SEGUE imaging data to measure the sky position, distance, and radial velocities of stars in the tidal debris stream that is commonly referred to as the "Orphan Stream." We fit orbital parameters to the data, and find a prograde orbit with an apogalacticon, perigalacticon, and eccentricity of 90 kpc, 16.4 kpc and 0.7, respectively. Neither the dwarf galaxy UMa II nor the Complex A gas cloud have velocities consistent with a kinematic association with the Orphan Stream. It is possible that Segue-1 is associated with the Orphan Stream, but no other kn…
Almost every known low-luminosity Milky Way dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellite galaxy contains at least one RR Lyrae star. Assuming that a fraction of distant (60 < d_{helio} < 100 kpc) Galactic halo RR Lyrae stars are members of yet to be discovered low-luminosity dSph galaxies, we perform a {\em guided} search for these low-luminosity dSph galaxies. In order to detect the presence of dSph galaxies, we combine stars selected from more than 123 sightlines centered on RR Lyrae stars identified by the Palomar Transient Factory. We find that this method is sensitive enough to detect the presence o…
We have used the publicly released Dark Energy Survey data to hunt for new satellites of the Milky Way in the Southern hemisphere. Our search yielded a large number of promising candidates. In this paper, we announce the discovery of 9 new unambiguous ultra-faint objects, whose authenticity can be established with the DES data alone. Based on the morphological properties, three of the new satellites are dwarf galaxies, one of which is located at the very outskirts of the Milky Way, at a distance of 380 kpc. The remaining 6 objects have sizes and luminosities comparable to the Segue~1 satellite…
As part of a program to measure abundance ratios in stars beyond 15 kpc from the Galactic center, we have discovered a metal-poor star in the outer halo with a unique chemical signature. We originally identified it in the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) survey as a distant metal-poor star. We obtained a follow-up spectrum using the Echellette Spectrograph and Imager (ESI) at the Keck 2 telescope, and measure [Fe/H] =-3.17, [Mg/Fe] =-0.10 and [Ca/Fe] =+1.11. This is one of the largest over-abundances of Ca measured in any star to date; the extremely low value …
The ongoing large spectroscopic surveys of the Milky Way such as SEGUE and RAVE have enabled us to take a fresh look at the structure of the Galactic thin and thick disks, and how their structure fits within the framework of structure formation via hierarchical clustering. In this article I will summarize some recent results mainly based in the RAVE survey with respect to the structure of the Galactic disks, their possible origin as well as indications of substructure and asymmetries.
