| Issue |
A&A
Volume 466, Number 3, May II 2007
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Page(s) | 875 - 881 | |
| Section | Extragalactic astronomy | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20066578 | |
| Published online | 24 April 2007 | |
The size and structure of the spheroid of IC 1613*
1
INAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma Viale del Parco Mellini 84, 0136 Roma, Italy e-mail: battinel@oarhp1.rm.astro.it
2
Département de Physique, Université de Montréal, C.P.6128, Succursale Centre-Ville, Montréal, Qc, H3C 3J7, Canada e-mail: [demers;artigau]@astro.umontreal.ca
Received:
17
October
2006
Accepted:
13
February
2007
Context.Nearby galaxies, spirals as well as irregulars, have been found to be much larger than previously believed. The structure of the huge spheroid surrounding dwarf galaxies could give clues to their past gravitational history. Thanks to wide field imagers, nearby galaxies with diameter of dozens of arcmin can be effectively surveyed.
Aims.We obtain, from the CFHT archives, a series of i' and g' MegaCam images of IC 1613 in order to determine the stellar surface density of the field and determine the shape of its spheroid.
Methods.From the colour magnitude diagram we select some 36 000 stars, in the first three magnitudes of the red giant branch. The spatial distribution of these stars is used to establish the structure of the spheroid.
Results.The position angle of the major axis of the stellar spheroid is found to be
≈
, some
30° from the major axis of the HI cloud surrounding IC 1613.
The surface density profile of the spheroid is not exponential over all
the length of the major axis. A King profile,
with a core radius of 4.5' and a tidal radius of 24' fits the data.
The tidal truncation
of the spheroid suggests that IC 1613 is indeed a satellite of M 31.
Key words: galaxies: individual: IC 1613 / galaxies: structure / galaxies: Local Group
Based on observations obtained with MegaPrime/MegaCam, a joint project of CFHT and CEA/DAPNIA, at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) which is operated by the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada, the Institute National des Sciences de l'Univers of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique of France, and the University of Hawaii.
© ESO, 2007
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