Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT We report the discovery of an excess of main-sequence turnoff stars in the direction of the constellations of Eridanus and Phoenix from the first-year data of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). The Eridanus–Phoenix (EriPhe) overdensity is centered around and and spans at least 30° in longitude and 10° in latitude. The Poisson significance of the detection is at least . The stellar population in the overdense region is similar in brightness and color to that of the nearby globular cluster NGC 1261, indicating that the heliocentric distance of EriPhe is about . The extent of EriPhe in projection is therefore at least ∼4 kpc by ∼3 kpc. On the sky, this overdensity is located between NGC 1261 and a new stellar stream discovered by DES at a similar heliocentric distance, the so-called Phoenix Stream. Given their similar distance and proximity to each other, it is possible that these three structures may be kinematically associated. Alternatively, the EriPhe overdensity is morphologically similar to the Virgo overdensity and the Hercules–Aquila cloud, which also lie at a similar Galactocentric distance. These three overdensities lie along a polar plane separated by ∼120° and may share a common origin. Spectroscopic follow-up observations of the stars in EriPhe are required to fully understand the nature of this overdensity.
Source: The Astrophysical Journal
Authors: T. S. Li, E. Balbinot, N. Mondrik, J. L. Marshall, B. Yanny, K. Bechtol, A. Drlica-Wagner, D. Oscar, B. Santiago, J. D. Simon, A. K. Vivas, A. R. Walker, M. Y. Wang, T. M. C. Abbott, F. B. Abdalla, A. Benoit-Lévy, G. M. Bernstein, E. Bertin, D. Brooks, D. L. Burke, A. Carnero Rosell, M. Carrasco Kind, J. Carretero, L. N. da Costa, D. L. DePoy, S. Desai, H. T. Diehl, P. Doel, J. Estrada, D. A. Finley, B. Flaugher, J. Frieman, D. Gruen, R. A. Gruendl, G. Gutierrez, K. Honscheid, D. J. James, K. Kuehn, N. Kuropatkin, O. Lahav, M. A. G. Maia, M. March, P. Martini, R. Ogando, A. A. Plazas, K. Reil, A. K. Romer, A. Roodman, E. Sanchez, V. Scarpine, M. Schubnell, I. Sevilla-Noarbe, R. C. Smith, M. Soares-Santos, F. Sobreira, E. Suchyta, M. E. C. Swanson, G. Tarle, D. Tucker, Y. Zhang
Institutions: Texas A&M University, University of Surrey, Harvard University, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, University of Chicago, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Laboratório Interinstitucional de e-Astronomia, Carnegie Observatories, Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, University College London, University of Pennsylvania, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Stanford University, National Observatory, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Institute of Space Sciences, Institute for High Energy Physics, Excellence Cluster Universe, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, The Ohio State University, Australian Astronomical Observatory, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, University of Sussex, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, University of Michigan
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, University of Pennsylvania, Ohio State University, University of Chicago, University of Portsmouth, University College London, University of Sussex, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos, Institut de Física d'Altes Energies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas, Integrated Electronics Engineering Center, Binghamton University, Argonne National Laboratory, Fermilab, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, FP7 Ideas: European Research Council, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
Awards: Capitalizing on Gravitational Shear, Testing the Dark Energy Paradigm and Measuring Neutrino Mass with the Dark Energy Survey, G1794164356, Dark Energy Survey: Y1 Observing Shift, Additional AGP funding - supplementary to Sussex Consolidated Grant ST/L000652/1, G3467815775, G4104599821, Understanding the Origin of Cosmic Structure, G4760961572, G540951289, Probing Particle Mediated Growth: Towards a Predictive Understanding of Self-Assembly for Energy Applications, Model-guided biofuel production enhancement of metabolically engineered E. coli., The Dark Energy Survey: Education and Public Outreach, G7835623888, UCL Astrophysics Consolidated Grant 2015-2018, Astrophysics and Cosmology at the University of Sussex (2011-2016), Collaborative Research: The Dark Energy Survey Data Management Operations, Astrophysics and Cosmology - Sussex Consolidated Grant
OpenAlex ID: W2263828163