Shell Structure in the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

Details Shell Structure in the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy Shell Structure in the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy

2003-11-11

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0311241v1

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

29 pages, 7 figures. To appear in the February issue of the Astronomical Journal. Version with full-resolution figures availab

Scientific paper

10.1086/381298

We present initial results from a wide field photometric survey of the Fornax dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy. The focus here is on a small overdensity of stars located approximately 17 arcmin (670 pc in projection) from the centre of Fornax. Based on imaging data in both V and I bands down to approximately V = 21, the dimensions of the feature are approximately 1.7 arcmin by 3.2 arcmin (68 pc by 128 pc) with an average surface brightness of 25.8 mag/arcsec^2 in V. A follow-up analysis using the deep B and R band data obtained by Stetson et al. (1998) indicates that the overdensity is apparently dominated by a relatively young stellar population with an age of approximately 2 Gyr, though the current data do not rule out the presence of older stars. Our preferred interpretation is that the overdensity represents shell structure in the Fornax dSph galaxy, a phenomenon previously unseen in dwarf galaxies. The shell may be the remnant of a merger with Fornax of a smaller, gas-rich system that occured approximately 2 Gyr ago. The comparitively recent star formation seen in some dSph and dE galaxies may then also be the result of infall of small relatively gas-rich systems.

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