Spectroscopy of QUEST RR Lyrae Variables: the new Virgo Stellar Stream

Abstract

Eighteen RR Lyrae variables (RRLs) that lie in the "$12\fh 4$ clump" identified by the QUEST survey have been observed spectroscopically to measure their radial velocities and metal abundances. Ten blue horizontal branch (BHB) stars identified by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) were added to this sample. Six of the 9 stars in the densest region of the clump have a mean radial velocity in the galactic rest frame ($V_{\mathrm{gsr}}$) of 99.8 and $\sigma$ = 17.3 ${\mathrm{kms}}^{-1}$, which is slightly smaller than the average error of the measurements. The whole sample contains 8 RRLs and 5 BHB stars that have values of $V_{\mathrm{gsr}}$ suggesting membership in this stream. For 7 of these RRLs, the measurements of [Fe/H], which have an internal precision of 0.08 dex, yield $<[Fe/H]>=-1.86$ and $\sigma$ = 0.40. These values suggest that the stream is a tidally disrupted dwarf spheroidal galaxy of low luminosity. Photometry from the database of the SDSS indicates that this stream covers at least 106 deg${}^2$ of the sky in the constellation Virgo. The name Virgo Stellar Stream is suggested.

arXiv commentReplaced with revised version accepted for publication in ApJ Letters 13 pages 4 figures

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