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arXiv 1510.03487astro-ph.GA
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解析邻近星系扩展的恒星晕:宽视场PISCeS巡天

Resolving the extended stellar halos of nearby galaxies: the wide-field PISCeS survey

D. Crnojević, D. J. Sand, N. Caldwell, P. Guhathakurta, B. McLeod, A. Seth, J. D. Simon, J. Strader, E. Toloba

摘要:

在半人马座和玉夫座的宽视场全景成像巡天(PISCeS)中,我们用麦哲伦/Megacam观测了两个邻近星系(椭圆形的半人马座A和螺旋形的玉夫座D $\sim3.7$ Mpc)在150 kpc的投影银河系中心半径范围内的分辨星晕。这次巡天发现了迄今为止$\sim$ 20颗暗淡的卫星,以及与本星系群大不相同的两个环境中的显著星系流和次级结构,即以椭圆星系为主的半人马座A星系群和松散的玉夫座星系群。这些发现清楚地证明了过去和正在进行的吸积过程在塑造这些附近星系晕方面的重要性,并对其卫星系统进行了首次普查,达到了前所未有的$M_V<-8$。详细描述了玉夫座、半人马座A和它们的矮卫星的扩展晕中的恒星含量、形状和梯度,为星系形成和演化的理论模型提供了关键的限制。

英文摘要:

In the wide-field Panoramic Imaging Survey of Centaurus and Sculptor (PISCeS), we investigate the resolved stellar halos of two nearby galaxies (the elliptical Centaurus A and the spiral Sculptor, D $\sim3.7$ Mpc) out to a projected galactocentric radius of 150 kpc with Magellan/Megacam. The survey has led to the discovery of $\sim$20 faint satellites to date, plus prominent streams and substructures in two environments that are substantially different from the Local Group, i.e. the Centaurus A group dominated by an elliptical and the loose Sculptor group of galaxies. These discoveries clearly attest to the importance of past and ongoing accretion processes in shaping the halos of these nearby galaxies, and provide the first census of their satellite systems down to an unprecedented $M_V<-8$. The detailed characterization of the stellar content, shape and gradients in the extended halos of Sculptor, Centaurus A, and their dwarf satellites provides key constraints on theoretical models of galaxy formation and evolution.

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