STELLAR VELOCITIES IN THE CARINA, FORNAX, SCULPTOR, AND SEXTANS dSph GALAXIES: DATA FROM THE MAGELLAN/MMFS SURVEY*

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Published 2009 January 14 © 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.
, , Citation Matthew G. Walker et al 2009 AJ 137 3100 DOI 10.1088/0004-6256/137/2/3100

1538-3881/137/2/3100

ABSTRACT

We present spectroscopic data for individual stars observed from 2004 March through 2008 August as part of our Michigan/MIKE Fiber System (MMFS) survey of four dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies: Carina, Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans. Using MMFS at the Magellan/Clay Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, we have acquired 8855 spectra from 7103 red-giant candidates in these Galactic satellites. We list measurements of each star's line-of-sight velocity (median error ±2.1 km s−1) and spectral line indices for iron and magnesium absorption features. We use globular cluster spectra to calibrate the indices onto standard [Fe/H] metallicity scales, but comparison of the resulting metallicities with published values suggests that the MMFS indices are best used as indicators of relative, not absolute, metallicity. The empirical distributions of velocity and spectral indices also allow us to quantify the amount of contamination by foreground stars. In a companion paper, we develop an algorithm that evaluates the membership probability for each star, showing that the present MMFS sample contains more than 5000 dSph members, including 774 Carina members, 2483 Fornax members, 1365 Sculptor members, and 441 Sextans members.

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1. INTRODUCTION

Dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies are the smallest stellar systems thought to contain dark matter. Because they represent the lower observational extreme of both the galaxy-luminosity and halo-mass functions, dSphs are important objects with which to compare the models of galaxy formation. As dSphs typically lack neutral hydrogen, their pressure-supported stellar components provide the best available kinematic tracers. The dSph satellites of the Milky Way (MW) are sufficiently nearby that one can obtain high-resolution spectra of individual stars, enabling line-of-sight velocity measurements that resolve narrow (typically ∼5–10 km s−1) dSph velocity dispersions. The first such study used velocity measurements of just three stars to argue that the Draco dSph, if in virial equilibrium, has a mass-to-light ratio M/L ⩾ 30 (solar units), indicative of a dominant dark matter component (Aaronson 1983).

Subsequent observations of Draco and other MW satellites supported the notion that dSph kinematics are dominated by dark matter. Stellar velocity samples containing measurements for tens of stars per galaxy showed that the most luminous dSphs (LV ∼ 105–7LV,⊙) all have central velocity dispersions of ∼10 km s−1 (e.g., Aaronson & Olszewski 1987; Mateo et al. 1991, 1993; Suntzeff et al. 1993; Hargreaves et al. 1994; Armandroff et al. 1995; Hargreaves et al. 1996; Olszewski et al. 1995; Queloz et al. 1995; Vogt et al. 1995; Mateo et al. 1998). Given such data, simple kinematic models, which assume spherical symmetry, dynamic equilibrium, velocity isotropy, and radially constant M/L (i.e., mass follows light), imply that dSphs have masses of ∼107 M and M/L ∼ 101–102. The absence of a correlation between dynamical mass and luminosity suggests that the large variation in M/L is solely a reflection of the variation in baryon content (Mateo et al. 1993, 1998; Gilmore et al. 2007; Walker et al. 2007b; Strigari et al. 2008).

The advent of high-resolution, multiobject spectrographs at large telescopes now makes it possible to gather spectra for hundreds of stars during a single night. With samples reaching hundreds of stars per dSph, velocity dispersion profiles are now available for all of the brighter MW dSphs (Kleyna et al. 2002, 2004; Wilkinson et al. 2004; Muñoz et al. 2005, 2006; Sohn et al. 2007; Walker et al. 2006a, 2006b, 2007b; Battaglia et al. 2006; Mateo et al. 2008; Koch et al. 2007b, 2007a). For the most luminous dSphs, it is now possible to build spectroscopic data sets for thousands of stars. With such large data sets, one can measure higher moments (e.g., kurtosis) of the velocity distribution, and thereby place observational constraints on orbital anisotropy (Łokas et al. 2005). The large data sets also provide information about the velocity distribution in two dimensions, and thus are capable of uncovering kinematic evidence of substructure (Kleyna et al. 2003; Walker et al. 2006b) as well as tidal streaming (Muñoz et al. 2006; Mateo et al. 2008). The ability to measure spectral line strengths from these low S/N spectra provides an extra dimension of information that can be used to study stellar metallicity distributions (e.g., Koch et al. 2006, 2007b) to identify correlations between kinematics and metallicity (Tolstoy et al. 2004; Battaglia et al. 2006), and to help clean samples of contaminating foreground stars.

In a previous paper (Walker et al. 2007a, Paper I hereafter), we introduced a spectroscopic survey of individual dSph stars, undertaken using the Michigan/MIKE Fiber System (MMFS) at the Magellan 6.5 m Clay Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory. Our MMFS spectra have resolution R∼ 20,000 and sample the region 5140–5180 Å, which contains the prominent magnesium-triplet absorption feature. Paper I describes MMFS as well as our procedures for target selection, observation, and data reduction. As of 2008 August, we have used MMFS to obtain 8855 spectra from 7103 stars in four dSphs: Carina, Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans. From each spectrum, we measure the line-of-sight velocity and spectral indices that quantify the strengths of the iron and magnesium absorption lines present in the spectra (Paper I).

Here, we present the entire MMFS data set. In a companion paper (Walker et al. 2009, Paper III hereafter), we develop a statistical algorithm that uses the available velocity and magnesium data, as well as the stellar positions, to evaluate for each star the probability of dSph membership. Adding these probabilities, we find that the MMFS sample contains more than 5000 dSph members. In forthcoming papers, we use the MMFS data to provide detailed analyses of dSph kinematics and chemodynamic substructure.

2. OBSERVATIONS & DATA

We refer the reader to Paper I for a description of MMFS and the details of our methodology regarding target selection, observing procedure, and data reduction. After the publication of Paper I, we obtained new data during observing runs in 2007 January, 2007 September, 2008 April, and 2008 August. In these runs, we used MMFS to observe nine additional Carina fields (including five distinct sets of targets in the densely populated central field), three Sextans fields, eight Sculptor fields, and six Fornax fields. Table 1 logs these new observations (see Paper I for a log of all previous MMFS observations). The first two columns identify the galaxy and field number (identified in the maps of Figure 1). Columns 3–7 list the heliocentric Julian date (HJD) at the midpoint of the first exposure, UT date at the midpoint of the first exposure, total exposure time, number of red-giant candidates to which we assigned fibers, and the number of these for which we obtained an acceptable velocity measurement. The fraction of observed stars with acceptable measurements suffered in both 2007 runs due to harsh observing conditions. Figure 1 maps all dSph fields observed with MMFS as of 2008 August.

Figure 1.

Figure 1. MMFS fields observed as of 2008 August. Small points represent red giant candidates as identified in Paper I. Dotted ellipses correspond to (nominal) tidal radii, as identified by King (1962) profile fits to the surface brightness profiles by Irwin & Hatzidimitriou (1995). Sextans' tidal radius (rt ∼ 160') lies outside the plotted region.

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Table 1. MMFS observations of dSph fields in 2007–2008

Galaxy Field HJD −2.45 × 106 (days) UT Date Exposure Time (s) Targets Velocities
Carina 1.1 4120.7090 2007 Jan 20 4 × 2400 222  59
        1 × 3600  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅
Carina 1.3 4122.7012 2007 Jan 22 3 × 2400 210 121
Carina 1.4 4122.5869 2007 Jan 22 3 × 2400 223 132
Sextans 1 4122.8218 2007 Jan 22 3 × 2000 221 114
Carina 1.2 4123.5552 2007 Jan 23 3 × 2400 218  70
Carina 98 4123.6812 2007 Jan 23 3 × 2400 210  75
Sextans 59 4123.7988 2007 Jan 23 3 × 2400  64  51
Carina 105 4124.6626 2007 Jan 24 4 × 2400 174  70
Sextans 6 4124.8135 2007 Jan 24 3 × 2400 196 109
Carina 113 4125.5474 2007 Jan 25 4 × 2400 180 104
Carina 227 4125.6919 2007 Jan 25 4 × 2400 124  90
Sculptor 1.1 4354.7495 2007 Sep 11 3 × 2700 224  59
Fornax 4.5 4355.7222 2007 Sep 12 3 × 3000 224 128
Sculptor 3.1 4357.7109 2007 Sep 14 3 × 2700 218  55
Fornax 9.6 4359.6768 2007 Sep 16 3 × 1800 222  96
Sculptor 3.2 4363.6250 2007 Sep 20 5 × 2700 224 101
Sculptor 3.3 4364.6323 2007 Sep 21 2 × 2700 218  30
        1 × 1900  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅
Carina 1.2 4554.5176 2008 Mar 29 5 × 2400  67 218
Carina 1.1 4557.5176 2008 Apr 1 4 × 2400 102 223
        1 × 1800  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅
Carina 1.5 4560.5107 2008 Apr 3 4 × 2700 117 219
Sculptor 168 4683.7222 2008 Aug 5 3 × 2700  25  41
Fornax 4.6 4683.8616 2008 Aug 5 3 × 2400 165 222
Sculptor 174 4684.7157 2008 Aug 6 3 × 2700  32  41
Fornax 47 4684.8451 2008 Aug 6 3 × 2700 178 215
Sculptor 1.2 4685.7294 2008 Aug 7 3 × 2400 153 205
Fornax 38 4685.8491 2008 Aug 7 3 × 2700 121 143
Sculptor 399 4686.7057 2008 Aug 8 3 × 2700  11  26
Fornax 41 4686.8369 2008 Aug 8 3 × 2400  60  68
        1 × 2100  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅

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Tables 2, 3, 4, and 5 present the MMFS spectroscopic data from each individual observation of targets in Carina, Fornax, Sculptor, and Sextans, respectively. For stars with multiple velocity measurements, results from repeat observations are listed directly beneath the first measurement. Otherwise, results are listed chronologically by time of observation. Column 1 identifies each target by galaxy and identification number. Column 2 gives the field number and spectrograph channel ("B" for blue, "R" for red) in which the star was observed. Column 3 lists the Heliocentric Julian Date of the observation. Columns 4–5 list equatorial coordinates (J2000.0). Columns 6–7 give the apparent V magnitude and VI color, respectively4. Column 8 lists the measured velocity in the heliocentric rest frame (HRF). Columns 9–10 list composite spectral indices ΣFe and ΣMg, respectively.

Table 2. MMFS Spectroscopic Data–Carina

Target Field HJD −2.45 × 106 α2000 (hh:mm:ss) δ2000 (dd:mm:ss) V (mag) V-I (mag) Vhelio (km s−1) ΣFe (Å) ΣMg (Å) $\hat{P}_{M}$ Vhelio (km s−1) 〈ΣMg〉 (Å)
Car-0001 18B 3087.533 06:42:17.94 −50:53:58.4 19.90 1.14 218.8 ± 2.0 0.42 ± 0.05 0.48 ± 0.10 1.000 219.0 ± 2.0 0.49 ± 0.10
  1R 4554.518         223.0 ± 10.3 0.21 ± 0.28 0.53 ± 0.30      
Car-0002 18B 3087.533 06:42:18.60 −50:54:27.6 18.87 1.14 235.4 ± 0.6 0.38 ± 0.02 0.45 ± 0.05 1.000 235.5 ± 0.6 0.44 ± 0.04
  1R 3088.572         237.3 ± 5.8 0.43 ± 0.02 0.46 ± 0.09      
  25R 3411.554         236.0 ± 6.2 0.37 ± 0.07 0.24 ± 0.15      
  1R 4554.518         241.3 ± 4.0 0.43 ± 0.09 0.46 ± 0.16      
Car-0003 18B 3087.533 06:42:25.74 −50:52:12.6 18.84 1.10 39.6 ± 0.9 0.39 ± 0.04 1.12 ± 0.03 0.000    
Car-0004 18B 3087.533 06:42:27.17 −50:53:07.4 19.53 0.99 57.1 ± 1.9 0.43 ± 0.05 1.02 ± 0.06 0.000    
Car-0005 18B 3087.533 06:42:26.13 −50:53:29.1 17.99 1.35 4.6 ± 2.1 0.40 ± 0.02 0.95 ± 0.03 0.000 6.0 ± 1.8 0.95 ± 0.03
  1R 4122.587         8.8 ± 3.1 ... ...      
Car-0006 18B 3087.533 06:42:27.95 −50:53:37.4 20.41 0.92 218.0 ± 3.4 ... 0.87 ± 0.22 0.964    
Car-0007 18B 3087.533 06:42:25.17 −50:54:01.8 20.42 1.02 216.2 ± 5.0 0.30 ± 0.23 0.57 ± 0.25 0.997    
Car-0008 18B 3087.533 06:42:21.59 −51:00:21.4 20.47 0.84 225.1 ± 5.7 0.42 ± 0.08 0.31 ± 0.20 1.000 225.4 ± 3.1 0.24 ± 0.10
  13B 3410.547         225.6 ± 3.8 0.38 ± 0.05 0.21 ± 0.12      
Car-0009 18B 3087.533 06:42:25.55 −50:59:35.8 19.43 1.05 232.1 ± 1.9 0.42 ± 0.04 0.41 ± 0.09 1.000 232.1 ± 1.9 0.41 ± 0.09
  1R 4123.555         232.9 ± 9.2 ... ...      
Car-0010 18B 3087.533 06:42:24.18 −50:56:12.6 18.48 1.20 223.2 ± 0.9 0.40 ± 0.02 0.39 ± 0.04 1.000 223.1 ± 0.8 0.39 ± 0.04
  25R 3411.554         222.5 ± 1.6 0.34 ± 0.04 0.38 ± 0.10      
Car-0011 18B 3087.533 06:42:27.59 −50:55:54.0 20.50 0.80 214.5 ± 3.4 0.37 ± 0.07 0.35 ± 0.19 1.000 217.0 ± 2.3 0.44 ± 0.09
  13B 3410.547         219.1 ± 3.2 0.35 ± 0.06 0.47 ± 0.11      
Car-0012 18B 3087.533 06:42:11.82 −50:57:13.1 19.94 1.00 229.5 ± 4.0 0.33 ± 0.05 0.39 ± 0.12 1.000    
Car-0013 18B 3087.533 06:42:16.01 −50:56:54.8 19.65 0.96 219.1 ± 1.8 0.40 ± 0.03 0.35 ± 0.09 1.000 219.3 ± 1.7 0.35 ± 0.09
  1R 4122.587         226.7 ± 11.8 ... ...      
Car-0014 18B 3087.533 06:42:14.01 −50:56:58.3 20.62 0.95 232.6 ± 2.5 0.47 ± 0.07 0.42 ± 0.16 1.000    
Car-0015 18B 3087.533 06:42:14.77 −50:56:21.5 20.13 1.08 220.3 ± 2.2 0.27 ± 0.07 0.52 ± 0.12 0.999 220.5 ± 2.2 0.52 ± 0.12
  1R 4557.518         224.8 ± 11.0 ... ...      
...                        

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Table 3. MMFS Spectroscopic Data–Fornax

Target Field HJD −2.45 × 106 α2000 (hh:mm:ss) δ2000 (dd:mm:ss) V (mag) V-I (mag) Vhelio (km s−1) ΣFe (Å) ΣMg (Å) $\hat{P}_{M}$ Vhelio (km s−1) 〈ΣMg〉 (Å)
For-0001 15B 3287.826 02:39:53.25 −34:34:35.8 19.27 1.35 51.4 ± 0.4 0.51 ± 0.02 0.65 ± 0.05 0.996    
For-0002 15B 3287.826 02:39:56.10 −34:35:43.1 19.23 1.27 56.8 ± 0.5 0.51 ± 0.02 0.59 ± 0.05 0.997    
For-0003 15B 3287.826 02:39:55.28 −34:37:27.2 19.06 1.24 53.4 ± 0.4 0.50 ± 0.03 0.59 ± 0.07 0.995    
For-0004 15B 3287.826 02:39:55.69 −34:38:21.8 19.22 1.28 64.3 ± 0.6 0.56 ± 0.03 0.82 ± 0.05 0.985    
For-0005 15B 3287.826 02:39:58.47 −34:38:51.5 18.97 1.17 54.9 ± 0.5 0.49 ± 0.02 0.55 ± 0.05 0.995    
For-0006 15B 3287.826 02:39:55.36 −34:38:56.7 19.33 1.13 49.9 ± 0.8 0.49 ± 0.05 0.77 ± 0.08 0.992    
For-0007 15B 3287.826 02:39:59.50 −34:33:25.7 19.24 1.25 70.4 ± 0.5 0.57 ± 0.03 0.64 ± 0.06 0.994    
For-0008 15B 3287.826 02:40:01.52 −34:35:09.8 19.30 1.32 63.2 ± 0.5 0.62 ± 0.03 0.97 ± 0.05 0.926    
For-0009 15B 3287.826 02:40:00.13 −34:35:16.3 19.38 1.19 51.6 ± 0.5 0.54 ± 0.03 0.70 ± 0.07 0.996    
For-0010 15B 3287.826 02:39:58.41 −34:36:00.1 19.03 1.28 41.1 ± 0.4 0.53 ± 0.02 0.78 ± 0.04 0.985    
For-0011 15B 3287.826 02:40:00.18 −34:36:55.3 19.18 1.17 71.0 ± 1.6 0.49 ± 0.05 0.50 ± 0.15 0.986    
For-0012 15B 3287.826 02:40:07.09 −34:37:03.0 19.24 1.08 32.9 ± 1.2 0.35 ± 0.05 0.64 ± 0.10 0.966    
For-0013 15B 3287.826 02:40:07.35 −34:37:56.7 19.06 1.26 54.5 ± 0.6 0.58 ± 0.03 0.65 ± 0.09 0.995    
For-0014 15B 3287.826 02:40:05.29 −34:38:12.8 19.14 1.31 43.6 ± 1.0  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅ 0.983    
For-0015 15B 3287.826 02:40:11.40 −34:42:50.8 19.22 1.13 79.0 ± 0.8 0.43 ± 0.04 0.43 ± 0.09 0.949 79.2 ± 0.8 0.42 ± 0.08
  592B 3666.797         83.6 ± 3.2 0.38 ± 0.08 0.38 ± 0.19      
For-0016 15B 3287.826 02:40:14.65 −34:39:25.3 19.31 1.21 60.1 ± 0.8 0.47 ± 0.04 0.42 ± 0.09 0.990    
For-0017 15B 3287.826 02:40:12.08 −34:38:47.8 19.25 1.34 59.4 ± 0.5 0.45 ± 0.03 0.57 ± 0.06 0.995    
For-0018 15B 3287.826 02:40:23.40 −34:38:46.0 19.18 1.23 48.3 ± 0.7 0.43 ± 0.03 0.63 ± 0.06 0.995    
For-0019 15B 3287.826 02:40:25.26 −34:38:14.1 19.20 1.04 146.1 ± 5.7  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅ 0.000    
For-0020 15B 3287.826 02:40:04.61 −34:40:07.9 19.32 1.36 65.3 ± 0.6 0.50 ± 0.04 0.57 ± 0.08 0.994    
For-0021 15B 3287.826 02:39:56.33 −34:39:49.7 19.11 1.30 57.4 ± 0.7 0.50 ± 0.03 0.58 ± 0.07 0.995    
For-0022 15B 3287.826 02:40:01.03 −34:39:16.9 18.92 1.13 70.2 ± 0.7 0.44 ± 0.03 0.54 ± 0.06 0.990    
For-0023 15B 3287.826 02:40:09.10 −34:39:13.9 19.24 1.16 58.0 ± 0.6 0.50 ± 0.03 0.61 ± 0.07 0.995    
For-0024 15B 3287.826 02:40:04.67 −34:38:41.0 19.22 1.15 65.6 ± 0.6 0.54 ± 0.04 0.57 ± 0.08 0.993    
For-0025 15B 3287.826 02:40:02.44 −34:38:26.2 19.17 1.18 36.5 ± 0.6 0.51 ± 0.03 0.62 ± 0.07 0.982    
...                        

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Table 4. MMFS Spectroscopic Data–Sculptor

Target Field HJD −2.45 × 106 α2000 (hh:mm:ss) δ2000 (dd:mm:ss) V (mag) V-I (mag) Vhelio (km s−1) ΣFe (Å) ΣMg (Å) $\hat{P}_{M}$ Vhelio (km s−1) 〈ΣMg〉 (Å)
Scl-0001 20B 3286.629 01:00:46.17 −33:39:19.6 19.32 1.13 114.1 ± 1.9 0.36 ± 0.02 0.43 ± 0.04 0.998 112.6 ± 1.2 0.56 ± 0.03
  4B 3288.571         111.5 ± 1.6 0.34 ± 0.02 0.69 ± 0.04      
Scl-0002 20B 3286.629 01:00:45.44 −33:39:59.9 18.72 1.15 110.1 ± 0.9 0.32 ± 0.01 0.39 ± 0.03 1.000 110.2 ± 0.9 0.40 ± 0.03
  4R 3288.571         111.5 ± 2.6 0.27 ± 0.03 0.42 ± 0.08      
Scl-0003 20B 3286.629 01:00:44.46 −33:41:54.1 19.91 1.14 118.4 ± 2.8 0.42 ± 0.04 0.53 ± 0.06 1.000 116.4 ± 1.9 0.50 ± 0.05
  1B 4017.555         114.8 ± 2.5 0.32 ± 0.05 0.39 ± 0.11      
Scl-0004 20B 3286.629 01:00:46.96 −33:43:19.9 19.47 1.15 95.6 ± 2.2 0.38 ± 0.02 0.34 ± 0.05 1.000 103.8 ± 0.7 0.34 ± 0.03
  4B 3288.571         104.5 ± 2.0 0.30 ± 0.02 0.32 ± 0.05      
  1B 4017.555         104.6 ± 0.8 0.36 ± 0.03 0.36 ± 0.07      
Scl-0005 20B 3286.629 01:00:42.44 −33:43:26.0 19.11 1.18 115.5 ± 2.1 0.43 ± 0.02 0.33 ± 0.04 1.000 117.7 ± 0.9 0.40 ± 0.03
  4R 3288.571         115.5 ± 7.9 0.39 ± 0.04 0.52 ± 0.10      
  5R 3289.593         114.6 ± 3.3 0.40 ± 0.03 0.53 ± 0.09      
  1B 4017.555         118.7 ± 1.1 0.38 ± 0.04 0.50 ± 0.08      
Scl-0006 20B 3286.629 01:00:44.88 −33:43:57.7 19.17 1.11 93.0 ± 2.3 0.38 ± 0.02 0.31 ± 0.05 0.999 93.4 ± 2.2 0.32 ± 0.05
  4R 3288.571         100.7 ± 10.1 0.15 ± 0.08 0.37 ± 0.14      
Scl-0007 20B 3286.629 01:00:42.07 −33:44:02.7 19.26 1.18 118.6 ± 2.0 0.29 ± 0.04 0.63 ± 0.05 0.991    
Scl-0008 20B 3286.629 01:00:51.01 −33:38:20.5 18.97 1.13 113.8 ± 4.9 0.30 ± 0.02 0.63 ± 0.03 0.984 103.6 ± 1.4 0.60 ± 0.03
  1B 4017.555         102.7 ± 1.5 0.33 ± 0.04 0.39 ± 0.08      
Scl-0009 20B 3286.629 01:00:50.99 −33:40:02.4 18.50 1.17 95.7 ± 0.8 0.39 ± 0.01 0.42 ± 0.03 0.999 95.7 ± 0.8 0.41 ± 0.03
  4R 3288.571         97.0 ± 4.1 0.33 ± 0.03 0.32 ± 0.09      
Scl-0010 20B 3286.629 01:00:49.48 −33:40:37.8 18.98 1.16 101.6 ± 1.6 0.33 ± 0.02 0.39 ± 0.03 1.000 101.6 ± 1.6 0.41 ± 0.03
  4R 3288.571         101.9 ± 5.1 0.40 ± 0.03 0.59 ± 0.09      
Scl-0011 20B 3286.629 01:00:51.15 −33:47:17.3 19.39 1.04 112.6 ± 4.8 0.34 ± 0.03 0.51 ± 0.05 1.000 114.9 ± 1.1 0.49 ± 0.04
  1B 4017.555         115.0 ± 1.1 0.37 ± 0.04 0.43 ± 0.09      
Scl-0012 20B 3286.629 01:00:51.95 −33:46:24.0 19.12 1.20 111.8 ± 0.8 0.36 ± 0.02 0.46 ± 0.04 1.000 111.3 ± 0.4 0.45 ± 0.03
  5R 3289.593         112.4 ± 11.2 0.30 ± 0.04 0.48 ± 0.10      
  1B 4017.555         111.0 ± 0.5 0.39 ± 0.03 0.39 ± 0.06      
...                        

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Table 5. MMFS Spectroscopic Data–Sextans

Target Field HJD −2.45 × 106 α2000 (hh:mm:ss) δ2000 (dd:mm:ss) V (mag) V-I (mag) Vhelio (km s−1) ΣFe (Å) ΣMg (Å) $\hat{P}_{M}$ Vhelio (km s−1) 〈ΣMg〉 (Å)
Sex-0001 8B 3086.796 10:14:25.29 −01:42:53.7 19.70 0.62 269.4 ± 2.5 0.35 ± 0.03 0.45 ± 0.07 0.000 270.2 ± 1.7 0.32 ± 0.06
  15B 3417.761         270.9 ± 2.2 0.31 ± 0.03 0.14 ± 0.09      
Sex-0002 8B 3086.796 10:14:31.87 −01:39:06.6  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅ 47.3 ± 2.5 0.36 ± 0.02 0.99 ± 0.03 0.000 47.1 ± 1.4 0.92 ± 0.02
  15B 3417.761         47.1 ± 1.8 0.35 ± 0.02 0.84 ± 0.03      
Sex-0003 8B 3086.796 10:14:27.43 −01:37:24.8  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅ 123.8 ± 3.2 0.28 ± 0.03 1.05 ± 0.04 0.000 123.3 ± 2.0 0.92 ± 0.03
  15B 3417.761         122.9 ± 2.6 0.34 ± 0.02 0.80 ± 0.04      
Sex-0004 8B 3086.796 10:14:18.28 −01:44:08.4 18.49 1.33 29.8 ± 2.5 0.30 ± 0.05 1.00 ± 0.06 0.000 30.1 ± 1.8 0.85 ± 0.03
  15B 3417.761         30.4 ± 2.5 0.33 ± 0.02 0.80 ± 0.04      
Sex-0005 8B 3086.796 10:14:18.50 −01:39:59.3 18.06 1.25 31.9 ± 1.9 0.38 ± 0.02 0.98 ± 0.02 0.000 32.4 ± 1.3 0.94 ± 0.01
  15B 3417.761         32.8 ± 1.8 0.37 ± 0.01 0.89 ± 0.02      
Sex-0006 8B 3086.796 10:14:20.25 −01:39:23.0 19.77 0.73 273.5 ± 4.0 0.28 ± 0.05 0.48 ± 0.12 0.000 271.6 ± 1.8 0.62 ± 0.05
  15B 3417.761         271.1 ± 2.1 0.35 ± 0.03 0.64 ± 0.05      
Sex-0007 8B 3086.796 10:14:17.73 −01:38:28.7 19.42 0.58 147.6 ± 3.0 0.24 ± 0.04 0.48 ± 0.08 0.000 145.9 ± 2.0 0.37 ± 0.05
  15B 3417.761         144.5 ± 2.8 0.25 ± 0.03 0.30 ± 0.06      
Sex-0008 8B 3086.796 10:14:06.42 −01:34:50.0 17.55 1.26 −9.0 ± 1.7 0.35 ± 0.01 0.87 ± 0.02 0.000    
Sex-0009 8B 3086.796 10:14:08.40 −01:35:49.1 19.52 0.90 223.6 ± 4.9 0.31 ± 0.03 0.35 ± 0.07 0.998 226.1 ± 1.7 0.31 ± 0.05
  15B 3417.761         226.4 ± 1.8 0.26 ± 0.03 0.28 ± 0.06      
Sex-0010 8B 3086.796 10:14:17.31 −01:35:55.0  ⋅⋅⋅  ⋅⋅⋅ −39.6 ± 2.6 0.35 ± 0.02 0.77 ± 0.04 0.000 −39.8 ± 1.6 0.81 ± 0.02
  15B 3417.761         −40.0 ± 2.1 0.37 ± 0.02 0.84 ± 0.03      
Sex-0011 8B 3086.796 10:14:15.20 −01:36:16.9 19.77 1.02 72.8 ± 3.0 0.31 ± 0.04 0.93 ± 0.06 0.000 64.6 ± 0.8 0.84 ± 0.04
  15B 3417.761         64.0 ± 0.8 0.37 ± 0.04 0.73 ± 0.07      
Sex-0012 8B 3086.796 10:14:21.75 −01:31:45.0 18.12 0.82 317.0 ± 1.5 0.33 ± 0.01 0.59 ± 0.02 0.000    
Sex-0013 8B 3086.796 10:14:16.38 −01:44:00.5 20.36 1.20 110.9 ± 3.5 0.43 ± 0.06 0.56 ± 0.13 0.000    
Sex-0014 8B 3086.796 10:14:01.64 −01:45:32.9 18.77 1.17 16.9 ± 1.8 0.41 ± 0.03 0.81 ± 0.04 0.000 16.8 ± 1.4 0.80 ± 0.03
  15B 3417.761         16.5 ± 2.1 0.36 ± 0.03 0.79 ± 0.04      
Sex-0015 8B 3086.796 10:13:55.24 −01:33:20.5 19.80 0.95 246.2 ± 4.4 0.34 ± 0.04 0.38 ± 0.09 0.997 223.9 ± 1.4 0.40 ± 0.06
  7B 3090.704         233.6 ± 5.1 0.30 ± 0.10 0.07 ± 0.25      
  15B 3417.761         220.2 ± 1.6 0.34 ± 0.04 0.44 ± 0.07      
...                        

Only a portion of this table is shown here to demonstrate its form and content. Machine-readable and Virtual Observatory (VO) versions of the full table are available.

Download table as:  Machine-readable (MRT)Virtual Observatory (VOT)Typeset image

We use repeat measurements of stars measured on both the blue and the red channels of the MIKE spectrograph to quantify any systematic difference that may arise due to channel-dependent dispersion characteristics (Bernstein et al. 2003; Paper I). For 647 stars, we obtained at least one acceptable velocity measurement on both channels. For these stars, the left-hand panel of Figure 2 plots the velocity measured on the blue channel against that measured on the red channel. The best-fitting line through these data points has slope 0.998 ± 0.002 and intercept −0.33 ± 0.52 km s−1, indicating there is no systematic difference between velocities measured with the blue and the red channels.

Figure 2.

Figure 2. Left: Comparison of velocities measured for the same star on blue and red channels of the MIKE spectrograph. Right: Comparison of blue- and red-channel measurements of ΣMg. Overplotted in each panel is the best-fitting line.

Standard image High-resolution image

We find evidence for a slight channel dependence in measuring magnesium strength. For 476 stars, we obtained at least one acceptable measurement of ΣMg on both channels. For these stars, the right-hand panel in Figure 2 plots ΣMgblue against ΣMgred. The best-fitting straight line is given by

Equation (1)

For subsequent analysis, we apply Equation (1) to place values of ΣMg measured with the red channel on the blue-channel scale. The values of ΣMg listed in Tables 25 for red-channel spectra are those obtained after applying Equation (1). We do not apply a similar correction, however, for the values of ΣFe measured with the red channel, because the red-channel's values of ΣFe are calculated using fewer absorption lines than the blue channel's values (the red channel has low throughput at the blue end of our spectral range; see Paper I). Blue- and red-channel measurements of ΣFe must, therefore, be considered separately.

2.1. Metallicity Calibration

In principle the ΣFe and ΣMg indices contain information about metal abundances. In order to calibrate these values onto a metallicity scale, we obtained MMFS spectra of individual stars in globular clusters spanning the metallicity range −2 ⩽ [Fe/H] ⩽ −0.5. Left-hand panels in Figure 3 plot ΣFe (top) and ΣMg (bottom) against VVHB, where VHB is the apparent magnitude of the cluster's horizontal branch. The empirical relationship is approximately linear for each cluster, as is the case for more conventional indices derived from the calcium triplet ("CaT," e.g., Armandroff & Da Costa 1991). The slope reflects the dependence of opacity on surface gravity and temperature, both of which correlate with VVHB as an evolved star ascends the red giant branch. Following the procedure of Rutledge et al. (1997; see also Koch et al. 2006), we assume a common slope and fit straight lines to the data from each cluster. The intercepts, known as "reduced" indices, are given by

Equation (2)

Equation (3)

and provide a measure of metal abundance that, insofar as the linear model is valid, is independent of surface gravity and temperature.

Figure 3.

Figure 3. Metallicity calibration. Left: ΣFe (top) and ΣMg indices (bottom) vs. VVHB for globular cluster red giants observed with MMFS. Overplotted are lines that result from fitting a single slope as well as a unique intercept for each cluster. Right: Mean reduced equivalent width versus [Fe/H] for the six clusters, on the scales of Zinn & West (1984; open circles) and Carretta & Gratton (1997; solid circles). Overplotted for each scale is the best-fitting straight line.

Standard image High-resolution image

Right-hand panels in Figure 3 plot cluster metallicity, on the standard scales of Zinn & West (1984, "ZW84") and Carretta & Gratton (1997, "CG97"), against the mean-reduced indices for each globular cluster. The best-fitting straight lines are given by

Equation (4)

Equation (5)

Equation (6)

Equation (7)

where the errors include measurement errors as well as residuals from the fit, and the value in the square brackets is the median metallicity error from dSph stars in the MMFS sample. The metallicities obtained from the iron indices carry large errors due to the relative weakness of the iron features in the MMFS spectra. The magnesium index thus provides our best measure of metallicity, yielding median errors of 0.20 dex on the scale of CG97 (0.24 dex on the scale of ZW84). In subsequent discussion, we consider only the [Fe/H] values on the CG97 scale, obtained using Equation (7) (results are qualitatively unchanged if we use instead the values on the ZW84 scale, obtained from Equation (5)).

We apply Equations (2)–(7) to obtain [Fe/H] for each dSph star in the MMFS sample. Figure 4 displays scatter plots of [Fe/H]CG97 against distance from the dSph center, as well as histograms of the global [Fe/H] distributions (results are qualitatively the same if we use the metallicity scale of ZW84). We find that the resulting metallicity distributions are significantly narrower and biased toward high metallicity with respect to distributions previously derived from CaT spectroscopy. For example, the Carina sample of Koch et al. (2006) and the Fornax sample of Battaglia et al. (2006) both contain significant numbers of stars with metallicities as low as [Fe/H] ∼−2.5 dex, and as high as ∼−0.5 dex; for both galaxies the MMFS distributions fall to zero short of these extremes. While the MMFS sample ranks dSphs by mean [Fe/H] in the same sequence as previously published studies, it displays a narrower spread. These comparisons lead us to conclude that either the slope we have determined in our metallicity calibration (Equations (4)–(7)) is simply too shallow, which we may remedy with observation of more calibrating clusters, or there are problems with one or both of the methods by which which Ca and Mg is used to measure iron abundance. For example, Kirby et al. (2008) have recently shown that a spectral synthesis method that fits model spectra directly to iron lines implies wider metallicity distributions than are indicated by the standard CaT method.

Figure 4.

Figure 4. Metallicity distribution and radial dependence. Black points in each panel give the [Fe/H] metallicity measured for individual stars, calibrated on the metallicity scale of Carretta & Gratton (1997). All plotted stars are red giant candidates with membership probability $\hat{P}_{dsph} >0.5$. Median errors for individual data points are ±0.2 dex. Red points give the mean [Fe/H] after binning the sample according to projected radius. Histograms in subpanels give the global [Fe/H] distributions.

Standard image High-resolution image

For the analysis of the MMFS metallicity data we, therefore, recommend against using the absolute values of [Fe/H] that result from calibration using Equations (4)–(7). Instead, we recommend using the reduced indices ΣFe and ΣMg, which are obtained by applying Equations (2) and (3) to the raw indices listed in Tables 25, as measures of relative metallicity. In this way the MMFS sample can be divided into metal-rich and metal-poor subcomponents, as has been done in previous analyses of these and other dSphs (e.g., Tolstoy et al. 2004; Battaglia et al. 2006), and can be used to search for evidence of metallicity gradients (M. G. Walker et al. 2009, in preparation).

2.2. Repeat Measurements

The MMFS data set contains repeat velocity measurements for 1363 dSph target stars. There are 3115 independent measurements of these stars, including up to five measurements for some stars. For subsequent analyses, we replace the nj measurements of the jth star with the weighted mean

Equation (8)

where the weights, wij = σ−2V,ij, are defined by the velocity errors $\sigma _{V_{ij}}$. The weighted mean provides an unbiased estimate of the true velocity, and has variance $\sigma _{\bar{V},j}^2=\big(\!\sum _{i=1}^{n_j}w_{ij}\big)^{-1}$. We again use the weighted mean to combine repeat measurements (of which there are 2408 for 1089 stars) of the composite index ΣMg. For all stars with nj > 1 independent velocity measurements, Column (12) of Tables 25 lists the weighted mean velocity. Column (13) gives the weighted mean value of ΣMg for stars with multiple measurements.

2.3. dSph Membership

We expect some fraction of the stars in each dSph sample to be contaminants, i.e., Milky Way stars with magnitudes and colors satisfying our target selection criteria. These stars tend to be either disk dwarfs or halo giants, both of which have broader velocity distributions than dSphs. Foreground dwarfs also tend to have higher metallicity and surface gravity, boosting their ΣMg values. Thus, while the dSph members cluster into relatively narrow velocity distributions, contaminants tend to have a broader velocity distribution and systematically larger ΣMg. We can, therefore, use the available velocity and ΣMg data to help evaluate whether a given star is a dSph member or a foreground contaminant.

In Paper III, we introduce a statistical technique called expectation maximization (EM). There, we develop an EM algorithm that uses the velocity and ΣMg data, as well as the positions of the observed stars, to evaluate the membership probability, PM, of each star. These probabilities are listed in Column (11) of Tables 25. By adding membership probabilities, we find that there are more than 5000 probable members in the MMFS sample, including 774 Carina members, 2483 Fornax members, 1365 Sculptor members, and 441 Sextans members.

3. SUMMARY

We have presented all spectroscopic observations of dSph stars taken with MMFS as of 2008 August. The MMFS sample more than doubles the number of velocity measurements for dSph stars, dating from Aaronson's (1983) initial kinematic study to the most recent published data from surveys using Keck and the VLT (Muñoz et al. 2006; Koch et al. 2006, 2007b, 2007a; Battaglia et al. 2006; Battaglia et al. 2008). In the forthcoming work, we use the data presented here, as well as the membership probabilities, to analyze the kinematics, chemodynamics, and potential substructure in these dSphs.

Data tables that present the complete MMFS data sets are provided in the electronic version of this article, and we welcome their use. We thank the staff at Las Campanas Observatory for generous and expert support. M.G.W. and M.M. thank the Horace H. Rackham Graduate School at the University of Michigan for generous support, including funds for travel to Magellan. M.M. acknowledges support from NSF grants AST-0206081, 0507453, and 0808043. E.W.O. acknowledges support from NSF Grants AST-0205790, 0505711, and 0807498. M.G.W. acknowledges support from the STFC-funded Galaxy Formation and Evolution programme at the Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge.

Footnotes

  • This paper presents data gathered with the 6.5 m Magellan Telescopes at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile.

  • We use our own photometric data for Carina and Fornax (see Paper I). Sculptor photometry was provided by Matthew Coleman (see Coleman et al. 2005). Because of problems flat fielding our Sextans images, for Sextans stars, we list magnitudes and colors only if the stars overlap with the sample of Lee et al. (2003), and we report the Lee et al. (2003) value.

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10.1088/0004-6256/137/2/3100