English

Cresting the wave: Proper motions of the Eastern Banded Structure

Astrophysics of Galaxies 2017-11-15 v1

Abstract

We study the kinematic properties of the Eastern Banded Structure (EBS) and Hydra I overdensity using exquisite proper motions derived from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and Gaia source catalog. Main sequence turn-off stars in the vicinity of the EBS are identified from SDSS photometry; we use the proper motions and, where applicable, spectroscopic measurements of these stars to probe the kinematics of this apparent stream. We find that the EBS and Hydra I share common kinematic and chemical properties with the nearby Monoceros Ring. In particular, the proper motions of the EBS, like Monoceros, are indicative of prograde rotation (V_phi ~ 180-220 km/s), which is similar to the Galactic thick disc. The kinematic structure of stars in the vicinity of the EBS suggest that it is not a distinct stellar stream, but rather marks the "edge" of the Monoceros Ring. The EBS and Hydra I are the latest substructures to be linked with Monoceros, leaving the Galactic anti-centre a mess of interlinked overdensities which likely share a unified, Galactic disc origin.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1709.08633,
  title  = {Cresting the wave: Proper motions of the Eastern Banded Structure},
  author = {Alis J. Deason and Vasily Belokurov and Sergey E. Koposov},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1709.08633},
  year   = {2017}
}

Comments

5 pages, 5 figures. MNRAS Letters accepted