The Origin of the Stellar Halo and Extended Disk in NGC 5128 (Centaurus A)

Details The Origin of the Stellar Halo and Extended Disk in NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) The Origin of the Stellar Halo and Extended Disk in NGC 5128 (Centaurus A)

Feb 2000

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000noao.prop..401p&link_type=abstract

NOAO Proposal ID #2000A-0401

Physics

Scientific paper

Very little is known about the halos of elliptical galaxies. Beyond a few effective radii, deep photographic imaging reveal detailed structure and extended envelopes far into the halos of a number of nearby ellipticals. Unfortunately, large spatial extent and low surface brightness have until recently prevented a detailed study of these faint halo features. NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) is the nearest giant elliptical galaxy (3.5 Mpc) and a recent merger, making it a prime candidate for such a study. Our ongoing planetary nebula (PN) radial velocity survey in NGC 5128 has been effective at probing the stellar kinematics in these outer regions, and we have discovered the velocity signature of an extended, rotating disk reaching out to 50 kpc. However, we know very little about the stellar population that gives rise to the outer halo PNe. We propose to use the Mosaic Imager at the CTIO 4-meter telescope to take deep, BVR imaging of the halo light, and to extend our PN search out to a distance 80 and 60 kpc along the major and minor axes, respectively. Our program will address the following questions: 1) What is the stellar content of elliptical galaxy halos? 2) What is the spatial and kinematic structure of the halo? 3) How large are elliptical galaxy halos, and are there intergalactic stars in groups? 4) What is the quantity and distribution of dark matter in elliptical galaxies? BVR imaging and PNe velocities combine to create a powerful tool that will be able to place quantitative constraints on dark matter and secondary infall in early-type galaxies.

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