Infrared Tip of the Red Giant Branch and Distances to the Maffei/IC 342 Group

Abstract

In this paper, we extend the use of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) method to near-infrared wavelengths from previously-used $I$-band, using the \textit{Hubble Space Telescope (HST)} Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3). Upon calibration of a color dependency of the TRGB magnitude, the IR TRGB yields a random uncertainty of $\sim 5$ in relative distance. The IR TRGB methodology has an advantage over the previously-used ACS $F606W$ and $F814W$ filter set for galaxies that suffer from severe extinction. Using the IR TRGB methodology, we obtain distances toward three principal galaxies in the Maffei/IC 342 complex, which are located at low Galactic latitudes. New distance estimates using the TRGB method are 3.45${}_{-0.13}^{+0.13}$ Mpc for IC 342, 3.37${}_{-0.23}^{+0.32}$ Mpc for Maffei 1 and 3.52${}_{-0.30}^{+0.32}$ Mpc for Maffei 2. The uncertainties are dominated by uncertain extinction, especially for Maffei 1 and Maffei 2. Our IR calibration demonstrates the viability of the TRGB methodology for observations with the \textit{James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)}.

14 pages, 14 figure, submitted to AJ

References in corpus (4)

• Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances. I. Optimization of a Maximum Likelihood Algorithm
• Metallicity-corrected Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance to NGC 4258
• The Star Formation Histories of the Bulge and Disk of M31 from Gemini North+NIRI/Altair and HST/NICMOS
• The Extinction and Distance of Maffei 2 and a New View of the IC 342/Maffei Group

Cited by in corpus (33)

• The CosmoVerse White Paper: Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics
• Distances to PHANGS Galaxies: New Tip of the Red Giant Branch Measurements and Adopted Distances
• Cosmicflows-4
• Comparing Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance Scales: An Independent Reduction of the Carnegie-Chicago Hubble Program and the Value of the Hubble Constant
• Galaxy Groups
• The Extragalactic Distance Database: The Color-Magnitude Diagrams and Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances Catalog
• The brightness of the Red Giant Branch tip: Theoretical framework, a set of reference models, and predicted observables
• On the duration of the embedded phase of star formation
• Detection of a distinct metal-poor stellar halo in the early-type galaxy NGC 3115
• The ISLAnds Project III: Variable Stars in Six Andromeda Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies
• Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale
• The Astrophysical Distance Scale III: Distance to the Local Group Galaxy WLM using Multi-Wavelength Observations of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch, Cepheids, and JAGB Stars
• Resolving the Dust-to-Metals Ratio and CO-to-H${}_2$ Conversion Factor in the Nearby Universe
• Euclid: Early Release Observations -- Deep anatomy of nearby galaxies
• MCR-TRGB: A Multiwavelength-Covariant, Robust Tip of the Red Giant Branch Measurement Method
• Quantifying Uncertainties on the Tip of the Red Giant Branch Method
• Draining the Local Void
• Relativistic corrections for measuring Hubble's constant to 1% using stellar standard candles
• An Empirical Calibration of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance Method in the Near Infrared. I. HST WFC3/IR F110W and F160W Filters
• Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances with JWST. II. I-band Measurements in a Sample of Hosts of 10 SN Ia Match HST Cepheids
• Relativistic viscous accretion flow model for ULX sources: A case study for IC 342 X-1
• The Distance and Motion of the Maffei Group
• Distance and mass of the NGC 253 galaxy group
• Around the Spindle galaxy: the dark halo mass of NGC3115
• Standardized Luminosity of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch utilizing Multiple Fields in NGC 4258 and the CATs Algorithm
• Mathematical Underpinnings of the Multi-Wavelength Structure of the TRGB
• Coordinated JWST Imaging of Three Distance Indicators in a SN Host Galaxy and an Estimate of the TRGB Color Dependence
• 36 GHz methanol lines from nearby galaxies: maser or quasi-thermal emission?
• KK 242, a faint companion to the isolated Scd galaxy NGC 6503
• A nearby isolated dwarf: star formation and structure of ESO 006-001
• Structural and Photometric Properties of the Andromeda Satellite Dwarf Galaxy Lacerta I from Deep Imaging with WIYN pODI
• The Chicago Carnegie Hubble Program: Improving the Calibration of SNe Ia with JWST Measurements of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch
• The Astrophysical Distance Scale: V. A 2% Distance to the Local Group Spiral M33 via the JAGB Method, Tip of the Red Giant Branch, and Leavitt Law