English

A Long Tidal Feature Extending from a Low-Redshift Galaxy Revealed in Rubin Data Preview 1 Imaging

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2026-01-13 v2

Abstract

Using the Vera C. Rubin Observatory Data Preview 1 (DP1), we present the detection and photometric analysis of a stellar stream extending along the minor axis of a massive disk-galaxy, LEDA 751050, at a redshift of z = 0.1 in the Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (ECDFS). This feature appears to be an analog of the M31 Giant Stellar Stream, spanning around 130 kpc by 15 kpc, with an estimated stellar mass of M_* = 6x10^8 M_Sun, and a mean g-band surface brightness (SB) of mu_g = 28.6 mag/arcsec^2. This discovery demonstrates Rubin's ability to reveal low-SB substructures and foreshadows the future capabilities when the full Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) data set is actualized.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2601.03080,
  title  = {A Long Tidal Feature Extending from a Low-Redshift Galaxy Revealed in Rubin Data Preview 1 Imaging},
  author = {Virginia Johnson and Aaron J. Romanowsky},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.03080},
  year   = {2026}
}

Comments

published in RNAAS; 3 pages, 1 figure