A deep large binocular telescope view of the Canes Venatici I dwarf galaxy

  • Nicolas F. Martin
  • , Matthew G. Coleman
  • , Jelte T.A. De Jong
  • , Hans Walter Rix
  • , Eric F. Bell
  • , David J. Sand
  • , John M. Hill
  • , David Thompson
  • , Vadim Burwitz
  • , Emanuele Giallongo
  • , Roberto Ragazzoni
  • , Emiliano Diolaiti
  • , Federico Gasparo
  • , Andrea Grazian
  • , Fernando Pedichini
  • , Jill Bechtold

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

42 Scopus citations

Abstract

We present the first deep color-magnitude diagram of the Canes Venatici I (CVn I) dwarf galaxy from observations with the wide-field Large Binocular Camera on the Large Binocular Telescope. Reaching down to the main-sequence turnoff of the oldest stars, it reveals a dichotomy in the stellar populations of CVn I: it harbors an old (≳ 10 Gyr), metal-poor ([Fe/H]∼-2.0), and spatially extended population along with a much younger (∼1.4-2.0 Gyr), 0.5 dex more metal-rich, and spatially more concentrated population. These young stars are also offset by 64+40-20 pc to the east of the galaxy center. The data suggest that this young population, which represents ∼3%-5% of the stellar mass of the galaxy within its half-light radius, should be identified with the kinematically cold stellar component found in a recent spectroscopic survey. CVn I therefore follows the behavior of the other remote MW dwarf spheroidals, which all contain intermediate-age and/or young populations: a complex star formation history is possible in extremely low mass galaxies.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)L13-L16
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume672
Issue number1 PART 2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Galaxies: individual (Canes Venatici I)
  • Galaxies: stellar content
  • Local Group

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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