2001/11/01 by Beth Willman, Julianne J. Dalcanton, Julianne Dalcanton +10
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Dwarf galaxy problem #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy group #Local Group #Luminous infrared galaxy #Milky Way #Photometry (optics) #Physics #Satellite galaxy #Sky #Star formation #Stars #Stellar population #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #Surface brightness #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1086/338438
published as Astron.J.123:848,2002 · 12 pages, 6 Figures, accepted for publication in AJ
arxiv created 2001/11/01 · openalex publication_date 2002/02/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/08
We present the detection limits of a new survey for resolved low surface brightness satellite galaxies to the Milky Way, based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). Our survey exploits SDSS's major strengths (multicolor photometry, depth, large-scale, and uniformity) by combining filter smoothing with limits in both magnitude and color space to search for low surface brightness galaxies and stellar counterparts to the compact high-velocity clouds out to the Milky Way's virial radius (∼350 kpc). Our calculated detection limits for a purely old stellar population vary with galaxy size and distance between μ V ,0 = 26.7 and 30.1 mag arcsec -2 . These limits will allow us to detect systems whose surface brightnesses are 0.5–3.9 mag arcsec -2 fainter than Sextans, the lowest surface brightness Local Group member known. Our survey not only is sensitive to lower surface brightness stellar populations than possible with previous Local Group surveys, but will also allow us to make an unbiased and well-defined assessment of the completeness of the observed Local Group galaxy luminosity function, so that we may compare the results with the predictions of various structure formation scenarios.