Spectroscopic hint of a cold stream in the direction of the globular cluster NGC 1851

We present the results of a spectroscopic survey performed in the outskirts of the globular cluster NGC 1851 with VIsible MultiObject Spectrograph (VIMOS)/Very Large Telescope (VLT). The radial velocities of 107 stars in a region between 12 and 33arcmin around the cluster have been derived. We clear...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Sollima, A., Gratton, R. G., Carballo-Bello, Julio A., Martínez-Delgado, David, Carretta, E., Bragaglia, A., Lucatello, Sara, Peñarrubia, Jorge
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/424816
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/424816
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Methods: data analysis
Methods: observational
Techniques: radial velocities
Globular clusters: individual: NGC 1851
Galaxy: halo
Galaxy: stellar content
Descripción
Sumario:We present the results of a spectroscopic survey performed in the outskirts of the globular cluster NGC 1851 with VIsible MultiObject Spectrograph (VIMOS)/Very Large Telescope (VLT). The radial velocities of 107 stars in a region between 12 and 33arcmin around the cluster have been derived. We clearly identify the cluster stellar population over the entire field of view, indicating the presence of a significant fraction of stars outside the tidal radius predicted by King models. We also find tentative evidence of a cold (σv ≤ 20kms-1) peak in the distribution of velocities at vr ∼ 180kms-1 constituted mainly by main-sequence stars whose location in the colour-magnitude diagram is compatible with a stream at a similar distance to this cluster. If confirmed, this evidence would strongly support the extragalactic origin of this feature. © 2012 The Authors Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society © 2012 RAS.