An Orphan No Longer? Detection of the Southern Orphan Stream and a Candidate Progenitor


Abstract in English

Using a shallow, two-color survey carried out with the Dark Energy Camera, we detect the southern, possibly trailing arm of the Orphan Stream. The stream is reliably detected to a declination of $-38^circ$, bringing the total known length of the Orphan stream to $108^circ$. We find a slight offset or S shape in the stream at $delta simeq -14^circ$ that would be consistent with the transition from leading to trailing arms. This coincides with a moderate concentration of $137 pm 25$ stars (to $g = 21.6$) that we consider a possible remnant of the Orphan progenitor. The position of this feature is in agreement with previous predictions.

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