Bibcode
Román, J.; Beasley, M. A.; Ruiz-Lara, T.; Valls-Gabaud, D.
Bibliographical reference
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, Volume 486, Issue 1, p.823-835
Advertised on:
6
2019
Citations
51
Refereed citations
45
Description
Distance determinations of extremely low-surface-brightness galaxies are
expensive in terms of spectroscopic time. Because of this, their
distances are often inferred by associating such galaxies with larger
structures such as groups or clusters, leading to a systematic bias by
selecting objects in high-density environments. Here we report the
discovery of a red ultra-diffuse galaxy (S82-DG-1: reff = 1.6
kpc; <μg > = 25.7 mag arcsec-2; g - i =
0.78 mag) located in a nearby cosmic void. We used multiband luminosity
functions of its globular clusters to obtain the distance to S82-DG-1,
at 28.7_{-3.6}^{+4.2} Mpc. Follow-up deep spectroscopy with the GTC
telescope yields a redshift of 3353 ± 29 km s-1,
making its association with the NGC 1211 galaxy (one of the most
isolated galaxies known) highly likely. Both galaxies have compatible
distances and redshifts, share a high peculiar velocity (˜1000 km
s-1) and lie within a void of radius 7 Mpc. The local surface
density is Σ5 ˜ 0.06 Mpc-2, an order
of magnitude smaller than the field population and similar to the voids
found in the GAMA survey. Our work shows: (i) The high potential of
using optical ground-based photometry of associated globular clusters to
explore distances to ultra-diffuse galaxies and (ii) the presence of red
ultra-diffuse galaxies even in the most sparse environments, suggesting
a wide range of formation mechanisms.
Related projects
Traces of Galaxy Formation: Stellar populations, Dynamics and Morphology
We are a large, diverse, and very active research group aiming to provide a comprehensive picture for the formation of galaxies in the Universe. Rooted in detailed stellar population analysis, we are constantly exploring and developing new tools and ideas to understand how galaxies came to be what we now observe.
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Martín Navarro