Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2007-09-21
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL. Minor changes, conclusions unchanged
Scientific paper
10.1086/525559
We present the first deep color-magnitude diagram of the Canes Venatici I (CVnI) dwarf galaxy from observations with the wide field Large Binocular Camera on the Large Binocular Telescope. Reaching down to the main-sequence turnoff of the oldest stars, it reveals a dichotomy in the stellar populations of CVnI: it harbors an old (> 10 Gyr), metal-poor ([Fe/H] ~ -2.0) and spatially extended population along with a much younger (~ 1.4-2.0 Gyr), 0.5 dex more metal-rich, and spatially more concentrated population. These young stars are also offset by 64_{-20}^{+40} pc to the East of the galaxy center. The data suggest that this young population, which represent ~ 3-5 % of the stellar mass of the galaxy within its half-light radius, should be identified with the kinematically cold stellar component found by Ibata et al. (2006). CVnI therefore follows the behavior of the other remote MW dwarf spheroidals which all contain intermediate age and/or young populations: a complex star formation history is possible in extremely low-mass galaxies.
Bechtold Jill
Bell Eric F.
Burwitz Vadim
Coleman Matthew G.
de Jong Jelte T. A.
No associations
LandOfFree
A deep Large Binocular Telescope view of the Canes Venatici I dwarf galaxy does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A deep Large Binocular Telescope view of the Canes Venatici I dwarf galaxy, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A deep Large Binocular Telescope view of the Canes Venatici I dwarf galaxy will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-256445