Properties of the Young Milky Way Globular Cluster Whiting 1 from Near-Infrared Photometry

Abstract

Whiting 1 is a member of the fast-growing group of young globular clusters in the Milky Way halo. Preliminary estimates of its fundamental parameters have been provided using optical photometry and low resolution spectroscopy. In an attempt to strengthen our knowledge of Whiting 1, in this study we employ a complementary approach. Isochrone fitting method was applied on the Near-Infrared Color-Magnitude Diagram and yields an age t=5.7$\pm$0.3 Gyr, metallicity $z$=0.006$\pm$0.001 ([Fe/H]=$-$0.5$\pm$0.1) and distance modulus $(m-M{)}_0$=17.48$\pm$0.10. Our results confirm that Whiting 1 is a young and moderately metal-rich globular cluster. It is one of the youngest from the Sgr dSph. We fitted an Elson, Fall and Freeman (EFF) profile to the near-infrared number counts, and measured cluster core radius $r_c$=9.1$\prime \prime$$\pm$3.9$\prime \prime$. Two probable eclipsing variables in the cluster were found from multi-epoch $V$ band photometry. Finally, an unknown galaxy cluster was identified on our $K$ vs. $(J-K)$ color-magnitude diagram. It has a redshift z$\sim$1, and it is located at about 1$\prime$ from the center of Whiting 1 at ${\alpha }_{J2000}=02^{h}02^{m}56.6^s$, ${\delta }_{J2000}=-03^{\circ }16\prime 09\prime \prime$, contaminating the cluster photometry.

arXiv commentAccepted for publication in MNRAS, 6 pages, 8 figures

References in corpus (13)

• Maps of Dust IR Emission for Use in Estimation of Reddening and CMBR Foregrounds
• PARSEC: stellar tracks and isochrones with the PAdova and TRieste Stellar Evolution Code
• New catalogue of optically visible open clusters and candidates
• The Second-Generation Guide Star Catalog: Description and Properties
• A catalog of 132,684 clusters of galaxies identified from Sloan Digital Sky Survey III
• GALEV evolutionary synthesis models - I. Code, input physics and web-interface
• The ACS Survey of Galactic Globular Clusters: M54 and Young Populations in the Sagittarius Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
• ATLAS lifts the Cup: Discovery of a New Milky Way satellite in Crater
• Whiting 1: the youngest globular cluster associated with the Sgr dSph
• Pal 1: Another Young Galactic Halo Globular Cluster?
• The Globular Cluster System of the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy
• Whiting 1: a new Halo Young Globular Cluster
• The Southern Dwarf Hunt: Local Group Dwarf Candidates in the Southern Sky

Cited by in corpus (13)

• Accurate distances to Galactic globular clusters through a combination of Gaia EDR3, HST and literature data
• A MegaCam Survey of Outer Halo Satellites. III. Photometric and Structural Parameters
• Absolute V-band magnitudes and mass-to-light ratios of Galactic globular clusters
• Stellar mass segregation as separating classifier between globular clusters and ultra-faint dwarf galaxies
• Globular Cluster Formation from Colliding Substructure
• VVVX-Gaia Discovery of a Low Luminosity Globular Cluster in the Milky Way Disk
• The southern leading and trailing wraps of the Sagittarius tidal stream around the globular cluster Whiting1
• A Nitrogen-Enhanced Metal-Poor star discovered in the globular cluster ESO280-SC06
• Dating the tidal disruption of globular clusters with Gaia data on their stellar streams
• Evidence That Hydra I is a Tidally Disrupting Milky Way Dwarf Galaxy
• Searching Extra-tidal Features around the Globular Cluster Whiting 1
• NLTE Stellar Population Synthesis of Globular Clusters using Synthetic Integrated Light Spectra I: Constructing the IL Spectra
• Fitting the density substructure of the stellar halo with MilkyWay@home