Dwarf spheroidal kinematics with large radial velocity samples
Abstract
I present a large sample of precise (±2 km/s) stellar radial velocities obtained to serve as kinematic tracers in Milky Way dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellite galaxies. This includes velocities for ∼750 member stars spanning several core radii in the Sculptor dSph, and ∼400 member stars extending out to the nominal tidal radius of the Fornax dSph. The resulting radial velocity dispersion profiles are flat, with no evidence for a sharp decrease in the velocity dispersion at large galactocentric radius in either Sculptor of Fornax. Application of a non-parametric method for estimating the radial mass distributions gives results consistent with mass determinations from classical analyses, with lower limits of [M/L]V {∼} 7 for Fornax and [M/L]V {∼}4 for Sculptor.
- Publication:
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IAU Colloq. 198: Near-fields cosmology with dwarf elliptical galaxies
- Pub Date:
- 2005
- DOI:
- Bibcode:
- 2005nfcd.conf..107W