Related papers: Ursa Major: a missing low-mass CDM halo?
Recent deep photometry of the dwarf spheroidal Ursa Major II's morphology, and spectroscopy of individual stars, have provided a number of new constraints on its properties. With a velocity dispersion $\sim$6 km s$^{-1}$, and under the…
Spectra for stars located redward of the fiducial red giant branches of the Ursa Minor and Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxies have been obtained with the Hobby-Eberly telescope and the Marcario Low Resolution Spectrometer. From a comparison of…
The recently discovered satellite dwarf galaxy Ursa Major III provides a promising opportunity to explore the signatures resulting from dark matter (DM) annihilation, due to its proximity and large J-factor. Owing to the absence of an…
We present Keck/DEIMOS spectroscopy of stars in 8 of the newly discovered ultra-faint dwarf galaxies around the Milky Way. We measure the velocity dispersions of Canes Venatici I and II, Ursa Major I and II, Coma Berenices, Hercules, Leo IV…
We examine the dynamics of stellar systems embedded within cold dark matter (CDM) halos in order to assess observational constraints on the dark matter content of Local Group dwarf spheroidals (dSphs). Our analysis shows that the total mass…
There has been a vast recent improvement in photometric and kinematic data for star clusters, Ultra Compact dwarfs, galactic nuclei, and local dSph galaxies, with Subaru contributing substantially to the photometric studies in particular.…
We present the results of a survey to detect low-mass companions of UMa group members, carried out in 2003-2006 with NACO at the ESO VLT. While many extra-solar planets and planetary candidates have been found in close orbits around stars…
We present a method for identifying localized secondary populations in stellar velocity data using Bayesian statistical techniques. We apply this method to the dwarf spheroidal galaxy Ursa Minor and find two secondary objects in this…
Using SDSS-DR7 and NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database spectroscopic data, we identify 166 galaxies as members of the Ursa Major cluster with Mr < -13.5 mag. We morphological classify all galaxies by means of carefully inspecting g-, r-,…
As a part of a project devoted to the study of the Ursa Minor dSph, the star formation history of the galaxy is presented in this paper. The analysis uses wide field photometry, encompassing about 1deg x 1deg (the total covered area being…
The Draco dwarf spheroidal galaxy (dSph), with its apparent immense mass to light ratio and compact size, holds many clues to the nature of the enigmatic dark matter. Here we present deep photometric studies of this dwarf galaxy, undertaken…
We use the dynamical heating of stars in ultrafaint dwarf (UFD) galaxies to set limits on Massive Compact Halo Objects (MACHOs). In our analysis we study the robustness of the bounds under uncertainties in key UFD parameters, such as the…
Cold Dark Matter (CDM) models struggle to match the observations at galactic scales. The tension can be reduced either by dramatic baryonic feedback effects or by modifying the particle physics of CDM. Here, we consider an ultra-light…
We report the discovery of an Ultra Compact Dwarf (UCD) associated with the Sombrero galaxy (M104). This is the closest massive UCD known and the first spectroscopically verified massive UCD which is located in a low density environment.…
Milky Way dwarf spheroidal galaxies (dSphs) are among the best candidates to search for signals of dark matter annihilation with Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes, given their high mass-to-light ratios and the fact that they are free…
We investigate the kinematics of the potential ultra-faint dwarf galaxy (UFD) UMa III/U1 using Bayesian inference to search for the signal of any potential intrinsic rotation. The magnitude of rotation is relevant to estimating the total…
We construct axisymmetric mass models for dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies in the Milky Way to obtain plausible limits on the non-spherical structure of their dark halos. This is motivated by the fact that the observed luminous parts of the…
Aims. We determine masses and mass-to-light ratios of five ultra-compact dwarf galaxies and one dwarf elliptical nucleus in the Fornax cluster from high resolution spectroscopy. Methods. Velocity dispersions were derived from selected…
Unraveling the nature of dark matter (DM) stands as a primary objective in modern physics. Here we present evidence suggesting deviations from the collisionless Cold DM (CDM) paradigm. It arises from the radial distribution of stars in six…
We report the discovery of a new ultra-faint globular cluster in the constellation of Ursa Minor, based on stellar photometry from the MegaCam imager at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT). We find that this cluster, Munoz 1, is…