Abstract We present new redshift measurements for 19 candidate ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) from the Systematically Measuring Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (SMUDGes) survey after conducting a long-slit spectroscopic follow-up campaign on 23 candidates with the Large Binocular Telescope. We combine these results with redshift measurements from other sources for 29 SMUDGes and 20 non-SMUDGes candidate UDGs. Together, this sample yields 44 spectroscopically confirmed UDGs ( r e ≥ 1.5 kpc and μ g (0) ≥ 24 mag arcsec −2 within uncertainties) and spans cluster and field environments, with all but one projected on the Coma cluster and environs. We find no statistically significant differences in the structural parameters of cluster and noncluster confirmed UDGs, although there are hints of differences among the axis ratio distributions. Similarly, we find no significant structural differences among those in locally dense or sparse environments. However, we observe a significant difference in color with respect to projected clustercentric radius, confirming trends observed previously in statistical UDG samples. This trend strengthens further when considering whether UDGs reside in either cluster or locally dense environments, suggesting starkly different star formation histories for UDGs residing in high- and low-density environments. Of the 16 large ( r e ≥ 3.5 kpc) UDGs in our sample, only one is a field galaxy that falls near the early-type galaxy red sequence. No other field UDGs found in low-density environments fall near the red sequence. This finding, in combination with our detection of Galaxy Evolution Explorer NUV flux in nearly half of the UDGs in sparse environments, suggests that field UDGs are a population of slowly evolving galaxies.
more »
« less
Systematically Measuring Ultra-diffuse Galaxies (SMUDGes). II. Expanded Survey Description and the Stripe 82 Catalog
Abstract We present 226 large ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) candidates ( r e > 5.″3, μ 0, g > 24 mag arcsec −2 ) in the SDSS Stripe 82 region recovered using our improved procedure developed in anticipation of processing the entire Legacy Surveys footprint. The advancements include less constrained structural parameter fitting, expanded wavelet filtering criteria, consideration of Galactic dust, estimates of parameter uncertainties and completeness based on simulated sources, and refinements of our automated candidate classification. We have a sensitivity ∼1 mag fainter in μ 0, g than the largest published catalog of this region. Using our completeness-corrected sample, we find that (1) there is no significant decline in the number of UDG candidates as a function of μ 0, g to the limit of our survey (∼26.5 mag arcsec −2 ); (2) bluer candidates have smaller Sérsic n ; (3) most blue ( g – r < 0.45 mag) candidates have μ 0, g ≲ 25 mag arcsec −2 and will fade to populate the UDG red sequence we observe to ∼26.5 mag arcsec −2 ; (4) any red UDGs that exist significantly below our μ 0, g sensitivity limit are not descendent from blue UDGs in our sample; and (5) candidates with lower μ 0, g tend to smaller n . We anticipate that the final SMUDGes sample will contain ∼30 × as many candidates.
more »
« less
- Award ID(s):
- 2006785
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10420000
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series
- Volume:
- 257
- Issue:
- 2
- ISSN:
- 0067-0049
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 60
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
More Like this
-
-
more » « less
Abstract We present the completed catalog of ultradiffuse galaxy (UDG) candidates (7070 objects) from our search of the DR9 Legacy Survey images, including distance and total mass estimates for 1529 and 1436 galaxies, respectively, that we provide and describe in detail. From the sample with estimated distances, we obtain a sample of 585 UDGs (
μ 0,g ≥ 24 mag arcsec−2andr e ≥ 1.5 kpc) over 20,000 square degrees of sky in various environments. We conclude that UDGs in our sample are limited to 1010≲M h /M ⊙≲ 1011.5and are on average a factor of 1.5–7 deficient in stars relative to the general population of galaxies of the same total mass. That factor increases with increasing galaxy size and mass up to a factor of ∼10 when the total mass of the UDG increases beyondM h = 1011M ⊙. We do not find evidence that this factor has a dependence on the UDGs large-scale environment. -
more » « less
ABSTRACT We study the formation of ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs) using the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation TNG50 of the Illustris-TNG suite. We define UDGs as dwarf galaxies in the stellar mass range $\rm {7.5 \le log (M_{\star } / {\rm M}_{\odot }) \le 9 }$ that are in the 5 per cent most extended tail of the simulated mass–size relation. This results in a sample of UDGs with half-mass radii $\rm {r_{h \star } \gtrsim 2 \ kpc}$ and surface brightness between $\rm {24.5}$ and $\rm {28 \ mag \ arcsec^{-2}}$, similar to definitions of UDGs in observations. The large cosmological volume in TNG50 allows for a comparison of UDGs properties in different environments, from the field to galaxy clusters with virial mass $\rm {M_{200} \sim 2 \times 10^{14} ~ {\rm M}_{\odot }}$. All UDGs in our sample have dwarf-mass haloes ($\rm {M_{200}\sim 10^{11} ~ {\rm M}_{\odot } }$) and show the same environmental trends as normal dwarfs: field UDGs are star-forming and blue while satellite UDGs are typically quiescent and red. The TNG50 simulation predicts UDGs that populate preferentially higher spin haloes and more massive haloes at fixed $\rm {M_{\star }}$ compared to non-UDG dwarfs. This applies also to most satellite UDGs, which are actually ‘born’ UDGs in the field and infall into groups and clusters without significant changes to their size. We find, however, a small subset of satellite UDGs ($\lesssim 10~{{\ \rm per\ cent}}$) with present-day stellar size a factor ≥1.5 larger than at infall, confirming that tidal effects, particularly in the lower mass dwarfs, are also a viable formation mechanism for some of these dwarfs, although sub-dominant in this simulation.
-
more » « less
Abstract We present our photometric search for potential nuclear star clusters (NSCs) in ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) as an extension of the SMUDGes catalog. We identify 325 SMUDGes galaxies with NSCs and, from the 144 with existing distance estimates, identify 33 NSC hosts as UDGs (
μ 0,g ≥ 24 mag arcsec−2,r e ≥ 1.5 kpc). The SMUDGes with NSCs lie on the galaxy red sequence, satisfy the relationship between NSC and host galaxy stellar masses, have a mean NSC stellar mass fraction of 0.02 but reach as high as 0.1, have NSCs that are displaced from the host center with a standard deviation of 0.10r e , and weakly favor higher-density environments. All of these properties are consistent with previous results from higher surface brightness galaxy samples, allowing for at most a relatively weak dependence of NSC behavior on host galaxy surface brightness. -
more » « less
ABSTRACT We present the discovery of a giant tidal tail of stars associated with F8D1, the closest known example of an ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG). F8D1 sits in a region of the sky heavily contaminated by Galactic cirrus and has been poorly studied since its discovery two decades ago. The tidal feature was revealed in a deep map of resolved red giant branch stars constructed using data from our Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam survey of the M81 Group. It has an average surface brightness of μg ∼ 32 mag arcsec−2 and can be traced for over a degree on the sky (60 kpc at the distance of F8D1) with our current imagery. We revisit the main body properties of F8D1 using deep multiband imagery acquired with MegaCam on CFHT and measure effective radii of 1.7–1.9 kpc, central surface brightnesses of 24.7–25.7 mag, and a stellar mass of ∼7 × 107M⊙. Assuming a symmetric feature on the other side of the galaxy, we calculate that 30–36 per cent of F8D1’s present-day luminosity is contained in the tail. We argue that the most likely origin of F8D1’s disruption is a recent close passage to M81, which would have stripped its gas and quenched its star formation. As the only UDG that has so far been studied to such faint surface brightness depths, the unveiling of F8D1’s tidal disruption is important. It leaves open the possibility that many other UDGs could be the result of similar processes, with the most telling signatures of this lurking below current detection limits.
- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
-
Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4365/ac2607
