paper

Numerical Color-Magnitude Diagram Analysis of SDSS Data and Application to the New Milky Way satellites

arXiv:0708.3758 · doi:10.1088/0004-6256/135/4/1361

Abstract

We have tested the application to Sloan Digital Sky Survey data of the software package MATCH, which fits color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) to estimate stellar population parameters and distances. These tests on a set of six globular clusters show that these techniques recover their known properties. New ways of using the CMD-fitting software enable us to deal with an extended distribution of stars along the line-of-sight, to constrain the overall properties of sparsely populated objects, and to detect the presence of stellar overdensities in wide-area surveys. We then also apply MATCH to CMDs for twelve recently discovered Milky Way satellites to derive in a uniform fashion their distances, ages and metallicities. While the majority of them appear consistent with a single stellar population, CVn I, UMa II, and Leo T exhibit (from SDSS data alone) a more complex history with multiple epochs of star formation.

arXiv comment25 pages, 20 figures, subsection added including 4 new figures, some other textual changes, accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal

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