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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Are Milky-Way-like galaxies like the Milky Way? A view from SDSS-IV/MaNGA

ABSTRACT In this paper, we place the Milky Way (MW) in the context of similar-looking galaxies in terms of their star-formation and chemical evolution histories. We select a sample of 138 Milky Way analogues (MWAs) from the SDSS-IV/MaNGA survey based on their masses, Hubble types, and bulge-to-total ratios. To compare their chemical properties to the detailed spatially-resolved information available for the MW, we use a semi-analytic spectral fitting approach, which fits a self-consistent chemical-evolution and star-formation model directly to the MaNGA spectra. We model the galaxies’ inner and outer regions assuming that some of the material lost in stellar winds falls inwards. We also incorporate chemical enrichment from type II and Ia supernovae to follow the alpha-element abundance at different metallicities and locations. We find some MWAs where the stellar properties closely reproduce the distribution of age, metallicity, and alpha enhancement at both small and large radii in the MW. In these systems, the match is driven by the longer time-scale for star formation in the outer parts, and the inflow of enriched material to the central parts. However, other MWAs have very different histories. These divide into two categories: self-similar galaxies where the inner and outer parts evolve identically; and centrally-quenched galaxies where there is very little evidence of late-time central star formation driven by material accreted from the outer regions. We find that, although selected to be comparable, there are subtle morphological differences between galaxies in these different classes, and that the centrally-quenched galaxies formed their stars systematically earlier.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Young globular clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy

Ruprecht 106 and Pal 12 are two known globular clusters in the Milky Way that are unequivocally younger than other clusters of similar metallicity. The Galactic coordinates of Ruprecht 106 place it near to the Magellanic Stream in projection, suggesting a tidal capture from the Magellanic Clouds. It is demonstrated that a family of orbits for both clusters can be constructed that are consistent with this capture hypothesis and that these then lead to a prediction of 3 milliarcseconds per year for the proper motions of both Ruprecht 106 and Pal 12.

Lin, D. N. C.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Mapping the Milky Way Galaxy with LISA

Gravitational wave detectors in the mHz band (such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, or LISA) will observe thousands of compact binaries in the galaxy which can be used to better understand the structure of the Milky Way. To test the effectiveness of LISA to measure the distribution of the galaxy, we simulated the Close White Dwarf Binary (CWDB) gravitational wave sky using different models for the Milky Way. To do so, we have developed a galaxy density distribution modeling code based on the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. The code uses different distributions to construct realizations of the galaxy. We then use the Fisher Information Matrix to estimate the variance and covariance of the recovered parameters for each detected CWDB. This is the first step toward characterizing the capabilities of space-based gravitational wave detectors to constrain models for galactic structure, such as the size and orientation of the bar in the center of the Milky Way

McKinnon, Jose A.↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Stellar Velocity Distribution Function in the Milky Way Galaxy

The stellar velocity distribution function in the solar vicinity is reexamined using data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) survey’s DR16 and Gaia DR2. By exploiting APOGEE’s ability to chemically discriminate with great reliability the thin-disk, thick-disk, and (accreted) halo populations, we can, for the first time, derive the three-dimensional velocity distribution functions (DFs) for these chemically separated populations. We employ this smaller but more data-rich APOGEE+Gaia sample to build a data-driven model of the local stellar population velocity DFs and use these as basis vectors for assessing the relative density proportions of these populations over the 5 < R < 12 kpc and −1.5 < z < 2.5 kpc range as derived from the larger, more complete (i.e., all-sky, magnitude-limited) Gaia database. We find that 81.9% ± 3.1% of the objects in the selected Gaia data set are thin-disk stars, 16.6% ± 3.2% are thick-disk stars, and 1.5% ± 0.1% belong to the Milky Way stellar halo. We also find the local thick-to-thin-disk density normalization to be ρ {sub T}(R {sub ⊙})/ρ {sub t}(R {sub ⊙}) = 2.1% ± 0.2%, a result consistent with, but determined in a completely different way from, typical star-count/density analyses. Using the same methodology, the local halo-to-disk-density normalization is found to be ρ {sub H}(R {sub ⊙})/(ρ {sub T}(R {sub ⊙}) + ρ {sub t}(R {sub ⊙})) = 1.2% ± 0.6%, a value that may be inflated due to the chemical overlap of halo and metal-weak thick-disk stars.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Galactic OB associations in the northern Milky Way Galaxy. I - Longitudes 55 deg to 150 deg

The literature on all OB associations was reviewed, and their IRAS point source content was studied, between galactic longitude 55 and 150 deg. Only one third of the 24 associations listed by Ruprecht et al. (1981) have been the subject of individual studies designed to identify the brightest stars. Distances to all of these were recomputed using the method of cluster fitting of the B main sequence stars, which makes it poossible to reexamine the absolute magnitude calibration of the O stars, as well as for the red supergiant candidate stars. Also examined was the composite HR diagram for these associations. Associations with the best defined main sequences, which also tend to contain very young clusters, referred to here as OB clusters, have extremely few evolved B and A or red supergiants. Associations with poorly defined main sequences and few OB clusters have many more evolved stars. They also show an effect in the upper HR diagram referred to as a ledge by Fitzpatrick and Garmany (1990) in similar data for the Large Magellanic Cloud. It is suggested that the differences in the associations are not just observational selection effects but represent real differences in age and formation history.

Garmany, C. D.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Spiral Survey Expedition: A proposal to organize for the Survey, exploration and eventual colonization of the Milky Way Galaxy

This paper details a plan to explore the galaxy. Areas of interest to an era of cyberspace include the Tech-Index information system for the expedition and the role cyberspace has in increasing expedition productivity and increasing the capabilities of cyberspace by expanding the goals and data set. The paper offers lists of projects for the cybermarket pool. The expedition is described also as a developers tool for cyberspace to acknowledge the scope of the human mind far surpasses present engineering yet guides our direction of energies and materials. Maintaining the biological capability to reproduce the Terran biosphere via Evolution park conservation areas is discussed. The ecological repair of Spaceship Earth and the build up of an interstellar industrial base from simple recyling and educational programs is meshed with a proposed 'reverse engineering cyberspace' plan. A set of constructive contests are proposed with 3 new currencies offered as prizes. The Planet, The Solar System, The Galaxy are 3 areas of focus. Each of these areas are considered in a cyberspectrum of (1) Sentience; (2) Biological diversity; and (3) Energy/Matter resources.

Galloway, Scott↗
DOE OSTI2024

The SAGA Survey. III. A Census of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way–mass Galaxies

We present Data Release 3 (DR3) of the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) Survey, a spectroscopic survey characterizing satellite galaxies around Milky Way (MW)-mass galaxies. The SAGA Survey DR3 includes 378 satellites identified across 101 MW-mass systems in the distance range of 25–40.75 Mpc, and an accompanying redshift catalog of background galaxies (including about 46,000 taken by SAGA) in the SAGA footprint of 84.7 deg 2 . The number of confirmed satellites per system ranges from zero to 13, in the stellar mass range of 10 6−10 M ⊙ . Based on a detailed completeness model, this sample accounts for 94% of the true satellite population down to M ⋆ = 10 7.5 M ⊙ . We find that the mass of the most massive satellite in SAGA systems is the strongest predictor of satellite abundance; one-third of the SAGA systems contain LMC-mass satellites, and they tend to have more satellites than the MW. The SAGA satellite radial distribution is less concentrated than the MW's, and the SAGA quenched fraction below 10 8.5 M ⊙ is lower than the MW's, but in both cases, the MW is within 1σ of SAGA system-to-system scatter. SAGA satellites do not exhibit a clear corotating signal as has been suggested in the MW/M31 satellite systems. Although the MW differs in many respects from the typical SAGA system, these differences can be reconciled if the MW is an older, slightly less massive host with a recently accreted LMC/SMC system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Missing Satellite Problem outside of the Local Group. II. Statistical Properties of Satellites of Milky Way–like Galaxies

We present a new observation of satellite galaxies around seven Milky Way (MW)–like galaxies located outside of the Local Group (LG) using Subaru/Hyper Suprime-Cam imaging data to statistically address the missing satellite problem. We select satellite galaxy candidates using magnitude, surface brightness, Sérsic index, axial ratio, FWHM, and surface brightness fluctuation cuts, followed by visual screening of false positives such as optical ghosts of bright stars. We identify 51 secure dwarf satellite galaxies within the virial radius of nine host galaxies, two of which are drawn from the pilot observation presented in Paper I. We find that the average luminosity function of the satellite galaxies is consistent with that of the MW satellites, although the luminosity function of each host galaxy varies significantly. We observe an indication that more massive hosts tend to have a larger number of satellites. Physical properties of the satellites such as the size–luminosity relation are also consistent with the MW satellites. However, the spatial distribution is different; we find that the satellite galaxies outside of the LG show no sign of concentration or alignment, while that of the MW satellites is more concentrated around the host and exhibits a significant alignment. As we focus on relatively massive satellites with M V < –10, we do not expect that the observational incompleteness can be responsible here. This trend might represent a peculiarity of the MW satellites, and further work is needed to understand its origin.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Study of the Properties and Dynamics of the Disk of Satellites in a Milky-Way-like Galaxy System

The dynamics of the satellite systems of Milky-Way-like galaxies offer a useful means by which to study the galaxy formation process in the cosmological context. It has been suggested that the currently observed anisotropic distribution of the satellites in such galaxy systems is inconsistent with the concordance ΛCDM cosmology model on the galactic scale if the observed satellites are random samples of the dark matter (DM) sub-halos that are nearly isotropically distributed around the central galaxy. In this study, we present original high-resolution zoom-in studies of central galaxies and satellite systems based upon initial conditions for the DM distribution from the Aquarius simulations but with substantial high-resolution baryon physics added. We find that the galaxy most like the Milky Way in this study does indeed contain a disk of satellites (DOS). Although one galaxy DOS system does not answer the question of how common such disks are, it does allow the opportunity to explore the properties and dynamics of the DOS system. Our investigation centers on the spatial arrangement (distances, angles, etc.) of satellites in this Milky-Way-like galaxy system with a specific emphasis on identifying and analyzing the disk-like structure along with its dynamical and morphological properties. Among the conclusions from this study, we find that the satellites and DM sub-halos in the galaxy simulations are anisotropically distributed. The dynamical properties of the satellites, however, indicate that the direction of the angular momentum vector of the whole satellite system is different from the normal direction of the fitted DOS and from the normal direction of the velocity dispersion of the system. Hence, the fitted DOS appears to be comprised of infalling sub-halos and is not a rotationally supported system.

Zhao, Xinghai↗
DOE OSTI2023

Overview of the DESI Milky Way Survey

Abstract We describe the Milky Way Survey (MWS) that will be undertaken with the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) on the Mayall 4 m telescope at the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Over the next 5 yr DESI MWS will observe approximately seven million stars at Galactic latitudes ∣ b ∣ > 20°, with an inclusive target selection scheme focused on the thick disk and stellar halo. MWS will also include several high-completeness samples of rare stellar types, including white dwarfs, low-mass stars within 100 pc of the Sun, and horizontal branch stars. We summarize the potential of DESI to advance understanding of the Galactic structure and stellar evolution. We introduce the final definitions of the main MWS target classes and estimate the number of stars in each class that will be observed. We describe our pipelines for deriving radial velocities, atmospheric parameters, and chemical abundances. We use ≃500,000 spectra of unique stellar targets from the DESI Survey Validation program (SV) to demonstrate that our pipelines can measure radial velocities to ≃1 km s −1 and [Fe/H] accurate to ≃0.2 dex for typical stars in our main sample. We find the stellar parameter distributions from ≈100 deg 2 of SV observations with ≳90% completeness on our main sample are in good agreement with expectations from mock catalogs and previous surveys.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS2013

Dark Matter Constraints from Observations of 25 Milky Way Satellite Galaxies with the Fermi Large Area Telescope

The dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are some of the most dark-matter-dominated objects known. Due to their proximity, high dark matter content, and lack of astrophysical backgrounds, dwarf spheroidal galaxies are widely considered to be among the most promising targets for the indirect detection of dark matter via gamma rays. Here we report on gamma ray observations of 25 Milky Way dwarf spheroidal satellite galaxies based on 4 years of Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) data. None of the dwarf galaxies are significantly detected in gamma rays, and we present gamma ray flux upper limits between 500MeV and 500 GeV. We determine the dark matter content of 18 dwarf spheroidal galaxies from stellar kinematic data and combine LAT observations of 15 dwarf galaxies to constrain the dark matter annihilation cross section. We set some of the tightest constraints to date on the annihilation of dark matter particles with masses between 2 GeV and 10TeV into prototypical standard model channels. We find these results to be robust against systematic uncertainties in the LAT instrument performance, diffuse gamma ray background modeling, and assumed dark matter density profile.

satellite↗
DOE OSTI2026

The DREAMS Project: Disentangling the Impact of Halo-to-halo Variance and Baryonic Feedback on Milky Way Satellite Galaxies

We analyze the properties of satellite galaxies around 1024 Milky Way–mass hosts from the DREAMS Project, simulated within a ΛCDM cosmology. Utilizing the TNG galaxy-formation model, the DREAMS simulations incorporate both baryonic physics and cosmological uncertainties for a large sample of galaxies with diverse environments and formation histories. We investigate the relative impact of the physical uncertainty from the galaxy-formation model on predicted satellite properties using four metrics: the satellite stellar mass function, radial distribution, inner slope of the dark matter density profile, and stellar half-light radius. We compare these predictions to observations from the SAGA survey and the DREAMS N-body simulations and find that uncertainties from baryonic physics modeling are subdominant to the scatter arising from halo-to-halo variance. Where baryonic modeling does affect satellites, the supernova wind energy has the largest effect on the satellite properties that we investigate. Specifically, increased supernova wind energy suppresses the stellar mass of satellites and results in more extended stellar half-light radii. The adopted wind speed has only a minor impact, and other astrophysical and cosmological parameters show no measurable effect. Our findings highlight the robustness of satellite properties against uncertainties in baryonic physics modeling.

Rose, Jonah C. [Princeton University, NJ (United S↗
DOE OSTI2021

Milky Way Satellite Census. III. Constraints on Dark Matter Properties from Observations of Milky Way Satellite Galaxies

We perform a comprehensive study of Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxies to constrain the fundamental properties of dark matter (DM). This analysis fully incorporates inhomogeneities in the spatial distribution and detectability of MW satellites and marginalizes over uncertainties in the mapping between galaxies and DM halos, the properties of the MW system, and the disruption of subhalos by the MW disk. Our results are consistent with the cold, collisionless DM paradigm and yield the strongest cosmological constraints to date on particle models of warm, interacting, and fuzzy dark matter. At $95\%$ confidence, we report limits on (i) the mass of thermal relic warm DM, $m_{\rm WDM} > 6.5\ \mathrm{keV}$ (free-streaming length, $\lambda_{\rm{fs}} \lesssim 10\,h^{-1}\ \mathrm{kpc}$), (ii) the velocity-independent DM-proton scattering cross section, $\sigma_{0} < 8.8\times 10^{-29}\ \mathrm{cm}^{2}$ for a $100\ \mathrm{MeV}$ DM particle mass (DM-proton coupling, $c_p \lesssim (0.3\ \mathrm{GeV})^{-2}$), and (iii) the mass of fuzzy DM, $m_{\phi}> 2.9 \times 10^{-21}\ \mathrm{eV}$ (de Broglie wavelength, $\lambda_{\rm{dB}} \lesssim 0.5\ \mathrm{kpc}$). These constraints are complementary to other observational and laboratory constraints on DM properties.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

The SAGA Survey. IV. The Star Formation Properties of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way–mass Galaxies

We present the star-forming properties of 378 satellite galaxies around 101 Milky Way analogs in the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) Survey, focusing on the environmental processes that suppress or quench star formation. In the SAGA stellar mass range of 10 6−10 M ⊙ , we present quenched fractions, star-forming rates, gas-phase metallicities, and gas content. The fraction of SAGA satellites that are quenched increases with decreasing stellar mass and shows significant system-to-system scatter. SAGA satellite quenched fractions are highest in the central 100 kpc of their hosts and decline out to the virial radius. Splitting by specific star formation rate (sSFR), the least star-forming satellite quartile follows the radial trend of the quenched population. The median sSFR of star-forming satellites increases with decreasing stellar mass and is roughly constant with projected radius. Star-forming SAGA satellites are consistent with the star formation rate–stellar mass relationship determined in the Local Volume, while the median gas-phase metallicity is higher and median H i gas mass is lower at all stellar masses. We investigate the dependence of the satellite quenched fraction on host properties. Quenched fractions are higher in systems with larger host halo mass, but this trend is only seen in the inner 100 kpc; we do not see significant trends with host color or star formation rate. Our results suggest that lower-mass satellites and satellites inside 100 kpc are more efficiently quenched in a Milky Way–like environment, with these processes acting sufficiently slowly to preserve a population of star-forming satellites at all stellar masses and projected radii.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

DELVE Milky Way Satellite Galaxy Census. I. Satellite Population and Survey Selection Function in DES, DELVE, and Pan-STARRS

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, and current observations are incomplete. To understand the impact of observational selection effects on the known satellite population, we perform rigorous, quantitative estimates of the Milky Way satellite galaxy detection efficiency in three wide-field survey datasets: the Dark Energy Survey Year 6, the DECam Local Volume Exploration Data Release 3, and the Pan-STARRS1 Data Release 1. Together, these surveys cover ∼13,600 deg 2 to g ∼ 24.0 and ∼27,700 deg 2 to g ∼ 22.5, spanning ∼91% of the high-Galactic-latitude sky (∣b∣ ≥ 15°). We apply multiple detection algorithms over the combined footprint and recover 49 known satellites above a strict census detection threshold. To characterize the sensitivity of our census, we run our detection algorithms on a large set of simulated galaxies injected into the survey data, which allows us to develop models that predict the detectability of satellites as a function of their properties. We then fit an empirical model to our data and infer the luminosity function, radial distribution, and size–luminosity relation of Milky Way satellite galaxies. Our empirical model predicts a total of $265^{+79}_{-47}$ satellite galaxies with −20 ≤ M V ≤ 0, half-light radii of 15 ≤ r 1/2 , (pc) ≤ 3000, and galactocentric distances of 10 ≤ D GC (kpc) ≤ 300. We also identify a mild anisotropy in the angular distribution of the observed galaxies, at a significance of ∼2σ, which can be attributed to the clustering of satellites associated with the LMC.

Tan, Chin Yi [Univ. of Chicago, IL (United States)↗
DOE OSTI2020

Revised and New Proper Motions for Confirmed and Candidate Milky Way Dwarf Galaxies

A new derivation of systemic proper motions of Milky Way satellites is presented and applied to 59 confirmed or candidate dwarf galaxy satellites using Gaia Data Release 2. This constitutes all known Milky Way dwarf galaxies (and likely candidates) as of 2020 May, except for the Magellanic Clouds, the Canis Major and Hydra 1 stellar overdensities, and the tidally disrupting Bootes III and Sagittarius dwarf galaxies. We derive systemic proper motions for the first time for Indus 1, DES J0225+0304, Cetus 2, Pictor 2, and Leo T, but note that the latter three rely on photometry that is of poorer quality than that of the rest of the sample. We cannot resolve a signal for Bootes 4, Cetus 3, Indus 2, Pegasus 3, or Virgo 1. Our method is inspired by the maximum likelihood approach of Pace & Li and examines simultaneously the spatial, color–magnitude, and proper motion distribution of sources. Systemic proper motions are derived without the need to identify confirmed radial velocity members, although the proper motions of these stars, where available, are incorporated into the analysis through a prior on the model. The associated uncertainties on the systemic proper motions are on average a factor of ∼1.4 smaller than existing literature values. Analysis of the implied membership distribution of the satellites suggests that we accurately identify member stars with a contamination rate lower than 1 in 20.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Milky Way Satellite Census. IV. Constraints on Decaying Dark Matter from Observations of Milky Way Satellite Galaxies

Abstract We use a recent census of the Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxy population to constrain the lifetime of particle dark matter (DM). We consider two-body decaying dark matter (DDM) in which a heavy DM particle decays with lifetime τ comparable to the age of the universe to a lighter DM particle (with mass splitting ϵ ) and to a dark radiation species. These decays impart a characteristic “kick velocity,” V kick = ϵ c , on the DM daughter particles, significantly depleting the DM content of low-mass subhalos and making them more susceptible to tidal disruption. We fit the suppression of the present-day DDM subhalo mass function (SHMF) as a function of τ and V kick using a suite of high-resolution zoom-in simulations of MW-mass halos, and we validate this model on new DDM simulations of systems specifically chosen to resemble the MW. We implement our DDM SHMF predictions in a forward model that incorporates inhomogeneities in the spatial distribution and detectability of MW satellites and uncertainties in the mapping between galaxies and DM halos, the properties of the MW system, and the disruption of subhalos by the MW disk using an empirical model for the galaxy–halo connection. By comparing to the observed MW satellite population, we conservatively exclude DDM models with τ < 18 Gyr (29 Gyr) for V kick = 20 kms −1 (40 kms −1 ) at 95% confidence. These constraints are among the most stringent and robust small-scale structure limits on the DM particle lifetime and strongly disfavor DDM models that have been proposed to alleviate the Hubble and S 8 tensions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗