2024ApJ...961..234H -
Astrophys. J., 961, 234 (2024/February-1)
Reading between the (Spectral) Lines: Magellan/IMACS Spectroscopy of the Ultrafaint Dwarf Galaxies Eridanus IV and Centaurus I.
HEIGER M.E., LI T.S., PACE A.B., SIMON J.D., JI A.P., CHITI A., BOM C.R., CARBALLO-BELLO J.A., CARLIN J.L., CERNY W., CHOI Y., DRLICA-WAGNER A., JAMES D.J., MARTINEZ-VAZQUEZ C.E., MEDINA G.E., MUTLU-PAKDIL B., NAVABI M., NOEL N.E.D., SAKOWSKA J.D., STRINGFELLOW G.S. (The DELVE Collaboration)
Abstract (from CDS):
We present a spectroscopic analysis of Eridanus IV (Eri IV) and Centaurus I (Cen I), two ultrafaint dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way. Using IMACS/Magellan spectroscopy, we identify 28 member stars of Eri IV and 34 member stars of Cen I. For Eri IV, we measure a systemic velocity of ${v}_{\mathrm{sys}}=-{31.5}_{-1.2}^{+1.3}\ \mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}$, and velocity dispersion ${\sigma }_{v}={6.1}_{-0.9}^{+1.2}\ \mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}$. Additionally, we measure the metallicities of 16 member stars of Eri IV. We find a metallicity of $[\mathrm{Fe}/{\rm{H}}]=-{2.87}_{-0.07}^{+0.08}$, and resolve a dispersion of σ[Fe/H]=0.20 ± 0.09. The mean metallicity is marginally lower than all other known ultrafaint dwarf galaxies, making it one of the most metal-poor galaxies discovered thus far. Eri IV also has a somewhat unusual right-skewed metallicity distribution. For Cen I, we find a velocity vsys = 44.9 ± 0.8 km s–1, and velocity dispersion ${\sigma }_{v}={4.2}_{-0.5}^{+0.6}\ \mathrm{km}\,{{\rm{s}}}^{-1}$. We measure the metallicities of 27 member stars of Cen I, and find a mean metallicity [Fe/H] = -2.57 ± 0.08, and metallicity dispersion ${\sigma }_{[\mathrm{Fe}/{\rm{H}}]}={0.38}_{-0.05}^{+0.07}$. We calculate the systemic proper motion, orbit, and the astrophysical J-factor for each system, the latter of which indicates that Eri IV is a good target for indirect dark matter detection. We also find no strong evidence for tidal stripping of Cen I or Eri IV. Overall, our measurements confirm that Eri IV and Cen I are dark-matter-dominated galaxies with properties largely consistent with other known ultrafaint dwarf galaxies. The low metallicity, right-skewed metallicity distribution, and high J-factor make Eri IV an especially interesting candidate for further follow-up.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
Dwarf galaxies - Local Group - Spectroscopy
Simbad objects:
124
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