TY - JOUR
T1 - Identifying Dwarfs of MC Analog GalaxiEs (ID-MAGE)
T2 - The Search for Satellites around Low-mass Hosts
AU - Hunter, Laura Congreve
AU - Mutlu-Pakdİl, Burçİn
AU - Sand, David J.
AU - Bennet, Paul
AU - Khim, Donghyeon J.
AU - Crnojević, Denija
AU - Doliva-Dolinsky, Amandine
AU - Durodola, Emmanuel
AU - Fielder, Catherine
AU - Goebel-Bain, Rowan
AU - Jones, Michael G.
AU - Karunakaran, Ananthan
AU - Spekkens, Kristine
AU - Zaritsky, Dennis
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.
PY - 2025/8/10
Y1 - 2025/8/10
N2 - We present results from Identifying Dwarfs of MC Analog GalaxiEs (ID-MAGE), a survey aimed at identifying and characterizing unresolved satellite galaxies around 35 nearby LMC- and SMC-mass hosts (D = 4−10 Mpc). We use archival DESI Legacy Survey imaging data and perform an extensive search for dwarf satellites, extending out to a radius of 150 kpc (∼Rvir). We identify 355 candidate satellite galaxies, including 264 new discoveries. Extensive tests with injected galaxies demonstrate that the survey is complete down to MV ∼ −9.0 (assuming the distance of the host) and μ0,V ∼ 26 mag arcsec−2 (assuming an n = 1 Sérsic profile). We perform consistent photometry, via Sérsic profile fitting, on all candidates and have initiated a comprehensive follow-up campaign to confirm and characterize candidates. Through a systematic visual inspection campaign, we classify the top candidates as high-likelihood satellites. On average, we find 4.0 ± 1.4 high-likelihood candidate satellites per LMC-mass host and 2.1 ± 0.6 per SMC-mass host, which is within the range predicted by cosmological models. We use this sample to establish upper and lower estimates on the satellite luminosity function of LMC-/SMC-mass galaxies. ID-MAGE nearly triples the number of low-mass galaxies surveyed for satellites with well-characterized completeness limits, providing a unique data set to explore small-scale structure and dwarf galaxy evolution around low-mass hosts in diverse environments.
AB - We present results from Identifying Dwarfs of MC Analog GalaxiEs (ID-MAGE), a survey aimed at identifying and characterizing unresolved satellite galaxies around 35 nearby LMC- and SMC-mass hosts (D = 4−10 Mpc). We use archival DESI Legacy Survey imaging data and perform an extensive search for dwarf satellites, extending out to a radius of 150 kpc (∼Rvir). We identify 355 candidate satellite galaxies, including 264 new discoveries. Extensive tests with injected galaxies demonstrate that the survey is complete down to MV ∼ −9.0 (assuming the distance of the host) and μ0,V ∼ 26 mag arcsec−2 (assuming an n = 1 Sérsic profile). We perform consistent photometry, via Sérsic profile fitting, on all candidates and have initiated a comprehensive follow-up campaign to confirm and characterize candidates. Through a systematic visual inspection campaign, we classify the top candidates as high-likelihood satellites. On average, we find 4.0 ± 1.4 high-likelihood candidate satellites per LMC-mass host and 2.1 ± 0.6 per SMC-mass host, which is within the range predicted by cosmological models. We use this sample to establish upper and lower estimates on the satellite luminosity function of LMC-/SMC-mass galaxies. ID-MAGE nearly triples the number of low-mass galaxies surveyed for satellites with well-characterized completeness limits, providing a unique data set to explore small-scale structure and dwarf galaxy evolution around low-mass hosts in diverse environments.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105012777311
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105012777311#tab=citedBy
U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ade9a4
DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ade9a4
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:105012777311
SN - 0004-637X
VL - 989
JO - Astrophysical Journal
JF - Astrophysical Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 58
ER -