Related papers: Milky Way Satellite Census. I. The Observational S…
The properties of Milky Way satellite galaxies have important implications for galaxy formation, reionization, and the fundamental physics of dark matter. However, the population of Milky Way satellites includes the faintest known galaxies,…
We quantify the detectability of stellar Milky Way satellites in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 5. We show that the effective search volumes for the recently discovered SDSS--satellites depend strongly on their luminosity,…
The Dark Energy Survey (DES) is a 5000 sq. degree survey in the southern hemisphere, which is rapidly reducing the existing north-south asymmetry in the census of MW satellites and other stellar substructure. We use the first-year DES data…
We describe the Milky Way Survey (MWS) that will be undertaken with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall 4m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Over the next 5 yr DESI MWS will observe approximately…
A detailed study of stellar populations in Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxies remains an observational challenge due to their faintness and fewer spectroscopically confirmed member stars. We use unsupervised machine learning methods to…
The Milky Way's (MW) satellite population is a powerful probe of warm dark matter (WDM) models as the abundance of small substructures is very sensitive to the properties of the WDM particle. However, only a partial census of the MW's…
The DESI Milky Way Survey (MWS) will observe $\ge$8 million stars between $16 < r < 19$ mag, supplemented by observations of brighter targets under poor observing conditions. The survey will permit an accurate determination of stellar…
The total number and luminosity function of the population of dwarf galaxies of the Milky Way (MW) provide important constraints on the nature of the dark matter and on the astrophysics of galaxy formation at low masses. However, only a…
We present a new, probabilistic method for determining the systemic proper motions of Milky Way (MW) ultra-faint satellites in the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We utilize the superb photometry from the first public data release (DR1) of DES to…
Dwarf spheroidal galaxy satellites of the Milky Way are prime targets for indirect detection of dark matter with gamma rays due to their proximity, high dark matter content and absence of non-thermal emission processes. Recently, the Dark…
Wide angle and deep surveys, regardless of their primary purpose, always sample a large number of stars in the Galaxy and in its satellite system. We here make a forecast of the expected stellar sample resulting from the Dark Energy Survey…
Ultra-faint dwarf galaxies, which can be detected as resolved satellite systems of the Milky Way, are critical to understanding galaxy formation, evolution, and the nature of dark matter, as they are the oldest, smallest, most metal-poor,…
We perform a comparison of different approaches to star-galaxy classification using the broad-band photometric data from Year 1 of the Dark Energy Survey. This is done by performing a wide range of tests with and without external `truth'…
We correct the observed Milky Way satellite luminosity function for luminosity bias using published completeness limits for the Sloan Digital Sky Survey DR5. Assuming that the spatial distribution of Milky Way satellites tracks the subhalos…
We report the discovery of eight new Milky Way companions in ~1,800 deg^2 of optical imaging data collected during the first year of the Dark Energy Survey (DES). Each system is identified as a statistically significant over-density of…
Observations of density variations in stellar streams are a promising probe of low-mass dark matter substructure in the Milky Way. However, survey systematics such as variations in seeing and sky brightness can also induce artificial…
[Abridged] A specialized data mining algorithm has been developed using wide-field photometry catalogues, enabling systematic and efficient searches for resolved, extremely low surface brightness satellite galaxies in the halo of the Milky…
We perform a search for stellar streams around the Milky Way using the first three years of multi-band optical imaging data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES). We use DES data covering $\sim 5000$ sq. deg. to a depth of $g > 23.5$ with a…
We study the luminosity function of satellite galaxies around isolated primaries using the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) spectroscopic and photometric galaxy samples. We select isolated primaries from the spectroscopic sample and search…
We present the results of a systematic Milky Way satellite search performed across an array of publicly available wide-area photometric surveys. Our aim is to complement previous searches by widening the parameter space covered.…