Work

Proper Motion Objects in the Hubble Deep Field

Year: 2004

Type: article

Abstract: Using the deepest and finest resolution images of the universe acquired with the Hubble Space Telescope and a similar image taken 7 yr later for the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey, we have derived proper motions for the point sources in the Hubble Deep Field-North. Two faint blue objects, HDF 2234 and HDF 3072, are found to display significant proper motion, 10.0 ± 2.5 and 15.5 ± 3.8 mas yr -1 . Photometric distances and tangential velocities for these stars are consistent with disk white dwarfs located at ~500 pc. The faint blue objects analyzed by Ibata et al. and Mendez & Minniti do not show any significant proper motion; they are not halo white dwarfs, and they do not contribute to the Galactic dark matter. These objects are likely to be distant active galactic nuclei.

Source: The Astrophysical Journal

DOI: 10.1086/421343

Authors: M. Kilic, Ted von Hippel, R. A. Mendez, D. E. Winget

Institutions: The University of Texas at Austin, European Southern Observatory

Language: English

Topic: Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies

Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funder: National Science Foundation

Award: Collaborative Research: White Dwarfs and the Star Formation History of the Galaxy