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Authors
Benne W. Holwerda
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The low surface brightness Universe holds clues to the first formation of galaxies. Specifically, the shape and morphology of local stellar haloes have encoded in them the early formation history of their parent galaxies. Early progenitor galaxies were absorbed by the dark halo and scattered their stars in a diffuse halo around the main galaxy. If the accretion event was relatively recent, it may show as a coherent stream of stars within the halo. in addition, the low-mass, low-surface brightness satellite galaxies, perhaps the ultradiffuse galaxies recently reported would help solve the Missing Dwarf Problem, the apparent over-prediction of $Lambda$CDM models of the number of satellite galaxies around a Milky Way Halo. However low surface brightness is not what most telescopes are optimized for, most are best for resolving point sources and not sensitivity for large-scale low-light. To be sensitive to the low surface brightness Universe, a telescope needs a simple, unobstructed light path (disfavoring mirrors), fast optics (low f/D), and relatively coarse sampling (big pixels). Exceptions are the superb Dragonfly and Huntsman telescopes which are purposely designed to be sensitive to low surface brighnesses. Similarly designed, if not with low surface brightness in mind is the successfully launched TESS satellite. We show in this Research Note that the envisaged total exposure times and optical setup are near-ideal for low surface brightness work in the local Universe. With combined TESS imaging, one can model the stellar halo surrounding a galaxy. Technical challenges include the image quality, zodiacal and Galactic cirrus background light, PSF characterization and subtraction. Once accounted for with a processing pipeline, one can model the stellar halo for all nearby galaxies and to search for substructure in these haloes.
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I consider a sample of eight pressure-supported low-surface brightness galaxies in terms of Milgroms modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND). These objects include seven nearby dwarf spheroidal galaxies -- Sextans, Carina, Leo II, Sculptor, Draco, Leo I, Fornax, and the ultra-diffuse galaxy DF44. The objects are modelled as Milgromian isotropic isothermal spheres characterised by two parameters that are constrained by observations: the constant line-of-sight velocity dispersion and the central surface density. The velocity dispersion determines the total mass, and, with the implied mass-to-light ratio, the central surface brightness. This then specifies the radial run of surface brightness over the entire isothermal sphere. For these objects the predicted radial distribution of surface brightness is shown to be entirely consistent with observations. This constitutes a success for MOND that is independent of the reduced dynamical mass.
This paper presents a principal components analysis of rotation curves from a sample of low surface brightness galaxies. The physical meaning of the principal components is investigated, and related to the intrinsic properties of the galaxies. The rotation curves are re-scaled using the optical disk scale, the resulting principal component decomposition demonstrates that the whole sample is properly approximated using two components. The ratio of the second to the first component is related to the halo steepness in the central region, is correlated to the gas fraction in the galaxy, and is un-correlated to other parameters. As a consequence the gas fraction appear as a fundamental variable with respect to the galaxies rotation curves, and its correlation with the halo steepness is especially important. Since the gas fraction is related to the degree of galaxy evolution, it is very likely that the steepness of the halo at the center is a consequence of galaxy evolution. More evolved galaxies have shallower central profile and statistically less gas, most likely as a consequence of more star formation and supernovae. The differences in evolution, gas fractions and halo central steepness of the galaxies could be due to the influence of different environments.
The periphery of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) can unlock important information regarding galaxy formation and evolution in interacting systems. Here, we present a detailed study of the extended stellar structure of the SMC using deep colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), obtained as part of the Survey of the MAgellanic Stellar History (SMASH). Special care was taken in the decontamination of our data from MW foreground stars, including from foreground globular clusters NGC 362 and 47 Tuc. We derived the SMC surface brightness using a ``conservative approach from which we calculated the general parameters of the SMC, finding a staggered surface brightness profile. We also traced the fainter outskirts by constructing a stellar density profile. This approach, based on stellar counts of the oldest main sequence turn-off (MSTO) stars, uncovered a tidally disrupted stellar feature that reaches as far out as 12 degrees from the SMC centre. We also serendipitously found a faint feature of unknown origin located at $sim 14$ degrees from the centre of the SMC and that we tentatively associated to a more distant structure. We compared our results to in-house simulations of a $1times10^{9} M_odot$ SMC, finding that its elliptical shape can be explained by its tidal disruption under the combined presence of the MW and the LMC. Finally, we found that the older stellar populations show a smooth profile while the younger component presents a jump in the density followed by a flat profile, confirming the heavily disturbed nature of the SMC.
We present optical UBVRI zenith night sky brightness measurements collected on eighteen nights during 2013--2016 and SQM measurements obtained daily over twenty months during 2014--2016 at the Observatorio Astronomico Nacional on the Sierra San Pedro Martir (OAN-SPM) in Mexico. The UBVRI data is based upon CCD images obtained with the 0.84m and 2.12m telescopes, while the SQM data is obtained with a high-sensitivity, low-cost photometer. The typical moonless night sky brightness at zenith averaged over the whole period is U = 22.68, B = 23.10, V = 21.84, R = 21.04, I = 19.36, and SQM = 21.88 mag/square arcsec, once corrected for zodiacal light. We find no seasonal variation of the night sky brightness measured with the SQM. The typical night sky brightness values found at OAN-SPM are similar to those reported for other astronomical dark sites at a similar phase of the solar cycle. We find a trend of decreasing night sky brightness with decreasing solar activity during period of the observations. This trend implies that the sky has become darker by delta_U =0.7, delta_B =0.5, delta_V =0.3, delta_R =0.5 mag/square arcsec since early 2014 due to the present solar cycle.
The 8.4m Vera Rubin Observatory Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) will start a ten-year survey of the southern hemisphere sky in 2023. LSST will revolutionise low surface brightness astronomy. It will transform our understanding of galaxy evolution, through the study of low surface brightness features around galaxies (faint shells, tidal tails, halos and stellar streams), discovery of low surface brightness galaxies and the first set of statistical measurements of the intracluster light over a significant range of cluster masses and redshifts.
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