Mathematics – Logic
Scientific paper
Jul 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9414d&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #9414
Mathematics
Logic
Hst Proposal Id #9414
Scientific paper
The stellar halo is one of the fundamental building blocks of galaxies. Although ground-based surface photometry has shown that stellar halos exist in some spiral galaxies, with colours similar to those of the main disk, little else is known about their stellar populations. We propose to carry out a systematic study of the halo regions of the edge-on galaxy NGC 891. The resulting deep colour-magnitude diagrams will be used to infer the mean metallicity of the bright halo giants at the tip of the RGB and below, and its metallicity spread. Recently, Zepf et al. {2000} inferred that the halo metallicity of NGC 5907 has to be low {Fe/H <= -1.7}, with a large stellar M/L ratio. We will be able to test this hypothesis with much better and deeper data. If we can confirm a similar halo composition in NGC 891, this would imply that the Milky Way halo might be very different from external halos. Since galactic halos trace the history of galaxy formation, this will have important implications for our understanding of galactic evolution on cosmological time scales. Using these survey data, we will be able to conclusively distinguish between genuine halo objects and merger remnants, without having to assume a scenario in which the halo field population is fully mixed. Surprisingly, such studies have not yet been undertaken for NGC 891, although the galaxy is a prime Milky Way analogue.
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