Li, TS;
Balbinot, E;
Mondrik, N;
Marshall, JL;
Yanny, B;
Bechtol, K;
Drlica-Wagner, A;
... Zhang, Y; + view all
(2016)
Discovery of a stellar overdensity in eridanus–phoenix in the dark energy survey.
The Astrophysical Journal
, 817
(2)
, Article 135. 10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/135.
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Abstract
We report the discovery of an excess of main sequence turn-off stars in the direction of the constellations of Eridanus and Phoenix from the first year data of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The Eridanus-Phoenix (EriPhe) overdensity is centered around l ∼ 285◦ and b ∼ −60◦ and spans at least 30◦ in longitude and 10◦ in latitude. The Poisson significance of the detection is at least 9σ. The stellar population in the overdense region is similar in brightness and color to that of the nearby globular cluster NGC 1261, indicating that the heliocentric distance of EriPhe is about d ∼ 16 kpc. The extent of EriPhe in projection is therefore at least ∼ 4 kpc by ∼ 3 kpc. On the sky, this overdensity is located between NGC 1261 and a new stellar stream discovered by DES at a similar heliocentric distance, the so-called Phoenix Stream. Given their similar distance and proximity to each other, it is possible that these three structures may be kinematically associated. Alternatively, the EriPhe overdensity is morphologically similar to the Virgo overdensity and the Hercules-Aquila cloud, which also lie at a similar Galactocentric distance. These three overdensities lie along a polar plane separated by ∼ 120◦ and may share a common origin. Spectroscopic follow-up observations of the stars in EriPhe are required to fully understand the nature of this overdensity
| Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Title: | Discovery of a stellar overdensity in eridanus–phoenix in the dark energy survey |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| DOI: | 10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/135 |
| Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.3847/0004-637X/817/2/135 |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | This version is the version of record. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. |
| Keywords: | galaxy: formation, galaxy: halo, galaxy: structure, local group, DIGITAL SKY SURVEY, EXPLORING HALO SUBSTRUCTURE, TRACING GALAXY FORMATION, HERCULES-AQUILA CLOUD, WAY GLOBULAR-CLUSTERS, MILKY-WAY, PISCES OVERDENSITY, DWARF GALAXY, TRIANGULUM-ANDROMEDA, SATELLITE GALAXIES |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Physics and Astronomy |
| URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10055816 |
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