Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2000-04-17
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
20 pages, 9 figures, Table 2 will appear in its complete form only in the electronic edition; Accepted for publication in the
Scientific paper
10.1086/301501
We have obtained V and I-band photometry for 1886 stars down to I=27 and V=28 in the field of the dwarf irregular galaxy WLM, using deep STIS CL and LP-band images taken in the parallel mode with the Hubble Space Telescope. The photometry is used to study the horizontal branch identified in WLM. The horizontal branch, extending blueward from the red giant clump, is an unambiguous signature of an old population. We demonstrate that it is possible to reach the horizontal branch of an old population at a distance of ~1 Mpc using STIS, with relatively short exposure times. From the VI color-magnitude diagram we obtain an accurate distance modulus (m-M)_0 = 24.95 \pm 0.13 for WLM by using the V-magnitude of the horizontal branch, and by adopting E(V-I)=0.03. The implications are: 1) WLM formed stars at high redshift, and 2) the old population of WLM can be representative of a protogalactic fragment, related to those accreted to form the Milky Way halo.
Alonso Maria Victoria
Goudfrooij Paul
Gregg Michael D.
Rejkuba Marina
Zijlstra Albert A.
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