Tip-of-the-Red-Giant-Branch Detection: Estimating the distance to resolved galaxies in SHIELD

Authors

Ian Cave, Macalester CollegeFollow

Abstract

The Survey of HI in Extremely Low-mass Dwarfs (SHIELD) is an ongoing study of twelve galaxies with HI masses between 10⁶ and 10⁷ Solar masses, detected by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey. One of the important characteristics of a galaxy is its distance, since knowing that value allows us to calibrate many other factors and learn more about the galaxy. This research was focused on creating a program to systematically solve for the distance to the galaxies in SHIELD. To perform this calculation, Tip-of-the-Red-Giant-Branch (TRGB) detection was chosen, which is a popular method for galaxies with low numbers of stars. Presented here are the results of a new program for the SHIELD galaxies, along with estimated uncertainties and comparisons to distance estimates made by methods from other publications and associated SHIELD members.

Streaming Media

Recommended Citation

Cave, Ian (2013) "Tip-of-the-Red-Giant-Branch Detection: Estimating the distance to resolved galaxies in SHIELD," Macalester Journal of Physics and Astronomy: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 4.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/mjpa/vol1/iss1/4