DELVE-ing into the Jet: A Thin Stellar Stream on a Retrograde Orbit at 30 kpc Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Abstract We perform a detailed photometric and astrometric analysis of stars in the Jet stream using data from the first data release of the DECam Local Volume Exploration Survey DR1 and Gaia EDR3. We discover that the stream extends over 29 on the sky (increasing the known length by 18), which is comparable to the kinematically cold Phoenix, ATLAS, and GD-1 streams. Using blue horizontal branch stars, we resolve a distance gradient along the Jet stream of 0.2 kpc deg1, with distances ranging from D 2734 kpc. We use natural splines to simultaneously fit the stream track, width, and intensity to quantitatively characterize density variations in the Jet stream, including a large gap, and identify substructure off the main track of the stream. Furthermore, we report the first measurement of the proper motion of the Jet stream and find that it is well aligned with the stream track, suggesting the stream has likely not been significantly perturbed perpendicular to the line of sight. Finally, we fit the stream with a dynamical model and find that it is on a retrograde orbit, and is well fit by a gravitational potential including the Milky Way and Large Magellanic Cloud. These results indicate the Jet stream is an excellent candidate for future studies with deeper photometry, astrometry, and spectroscopy to study the potential of the Milky Way and probe perturbations from baryonic and dark matter substructure.

published proceedings

  • ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL

altmetric score

  • 12.78

author list (cited authors)

  • Ferguson, P. S., Shipp, N., Drlica-Wagner, A., Li, T. S., Cerny, W., Tavangar, K., ... Yanny, B.

citation count

  • 4

complete list of authors

  • Ferguson, PS||Shipp, N||Drlica-Wagner, A||Li, TS||Cerny, W||Tavangar, K||Pace, AB||Marshall, JL||Riley, AH||Adamow, M||Carlin, JL||Choi, Y||Erkal, D||James, DJ||Koposov, Sergey E||Kuropatkin, N||Martinez-Vazquez, CE||Mau, S||Mutlu-Pakdil, B||Olsen, KAG||Sakowska, JD||Stringfellow, GS||Yanny, B

publication date

  • January 2022