Discovery of Extended Tidal Tails around the Globular Cluster Palomar 13

We use photometry from the DECam Legacy Survey to detect candidate tidal tails extending ~5 deg on either side of the Palomar 13 globular cluster. The tails are aligned with the proper motion of Palomar 13 and are consistent with its old, metal-poor stellar population. We identify three RR Lyrae stars that are plausibly associated with the tails, in addition to four previously known in the cluster. From these RR Lyrae stars, we find that the mean distance to the cluster and tails is $23.6 \pm 0.2$ kpc and estimate the total (initial) luminosity of the cluster to be $L_V=5.1^{+9.7}_{-3.4}\times 10^3 L_\odot$, consistent with previous claims that its initial luminosity was higher than its current luminosity. Combined with previously-determined proper motion and radial velocity measurements of the cluster, we find that Palomar 13 is on a highly eccentric orbit ($e\sim 0.8$) with a pericenter of ~9 kpc and an apocenter of ~69 kpc, and a recent pericentric passage of the cluster ~75 Myr ago. We note a prominent linear structure in the interstellar dust map that runs parallel to the candidate tidal features, but conclude that reddening due to dust is unlikely to account for the structure that we observe. If confirmed, the Palomar 13 stellar stream would be one of very few streams with a known progenitor system, making it uniquely powerful for studying the disruption of globular clusters, the formation of the stellar halo, and the distribution of matter within our Galaxy.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Submitted to AAS journal

Stream Members Only: Data-Driven Characterization of Stellar Streams with Mixture Density Networks

Stellar streams are sensitive probes of the Milky Way's gravitational potential. The mean track of a stream constrains global properties of the potential, while its fine-grained surface density constrains galactic substructure. A precise characterization of streams from potentially noisy data marks a crucial step in inferring galactic structure, including the dark matter, across orders of magnitude in mass scales. Here we present a new method for constructing a smooth probability density model of stellar streams using all of the available astrometric and photometric data. To characterize a stream's morphology and kinematics, we utilize mixture density networks to represent its on-sky track, width, stellar number density, and kinematic distribution. We model the photometry for each stream as a single-stellar population, with a distance track that is simultaneously estimated from the stream's inferred distance modulus (using photometry) and parallax distribution (using astrometry). We use normalizing flows to characterize the distribution of background stars. We apply the method to the stream GD-1, and the tidal tails of Palomar 5. For both streams we obtain a catalog of stellar membership probabilities that are made publicly available. Importantly, our model is capable of handling data with incomplete phase-space observations, making our method applicable to the growing census of Milky Way stellar streams. When applied to a population of streams, the resulting membership probabilities from our model form the required input to infer the Milky Way's dark matter distribution from the scale of the stellar halo down to subhalos.Comment: 35 pages, 13 figures, 4 tables, fully open-source and reproducible using ShowYourWor

Prospects for Detecting Gaps in Globular Cluster Stellar Streams in External Galaxies with the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

Stellar streams form through the tidal disruption of satellite galaxies or globular clusters orbiting a host galaxy. Globular cluster streams are exciting since they are thin (dynamically cold) and, therefore sensitive to perturbations from low-mass subhalos. Since the subhalo mass function differs depending on the dark matter composition, these gaps can provide unique constraints on dark matter models. However, current samples are limited to the Milky Way. With its large field of view, deep imaging sensitivity, and high angular resolution, the upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope (Roman) presents a unique opportunity to increase the number of observed streams and gaps significantly. This paper presents a first exploration of the prospects for detecting gaps in streams in M31 and other nearby galaxies with resolved stars. We simulate the formation of gaps in a Palomar-5-like stream and generate mock observations of these gaps with background stars in M31 and the foreground Milky Way stellar fields. We assess Roman's ability to detect gaps out to 10 Mpc through visual inspection and with the gap-finding tool ${\texttt{FindTheGap}}$. We conclude that gaps of $\approx 1.5$ kpc in streams that are created from subhalos of masses $\geq5 \times 10^6$M$_{\odot}$ are detectable within a 2-3 Mpc volume in exposures of 1000s to 1 hour. This volume contains $\approx 150$ galaxies, including $\approx 8$ galaxies with luminosities $>10^{9}~$L$_{\odot}$. Large samples of stream gaps in external galaxies will open up a new era of statistical analyses of gap characteristics in stellar streams and help constrain dark matter models.Comment: ApJ versio

COOL-LAMPS III: Discovery of a 25".9 Separation Quasar Lensed by a Merging Galaxy Cluster

In the third paper from the COOL-LAMPS Collaboration, we report the discovery of COOL J0542-2125, a gravitationally lensed quasar at $z=1.84$, observed as three images due to an intervening massive galaxy cluster at $z=0.61$. The lensed quasar images were identified in a search for lens systems in recent public optical imaging data and have separations on the sky up to 25".9, wider than any previously known lensed quasar. The galaxy cluster acting as a strong lens appears to be in the process of merging, with two sub-clusters separated by $\sim 1$ Mpc in the plane of the sky, and their central galaxies showing a radial velocity difference of $\sim 1000$ km/s. Both cluster cores show strongly lensed images of an assortment of background sources, as does the region between them. A preliminary strong lens model implies masses of $M(<250\ \rm{kpc}) = 1.79^{+0.16} _{-0.01} \times 10^{14} M_{\odot}$and$M(<250\ \rm{kpc}) = 1.48^{+0.04}_{-0.10} \times 10^{14} M_{\odot}$ for the East and West sub-clusters, respectively. This line of sight is also coincident with a ROSAT ALL-sky Survey source, centered between the two confirmed cluster halos reminiscent of other major cluster-scale mergers.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures. Submitted to Ap

COOL-LAMPS. VI. Lens Model and New Constraints on the Properties of COOL J1241+2219, a Bright z = 5 Lyman Break Galaxy and its z = 1 Cluster Lens

We present a strong lensing analysis of COOL J1241+2219, the brightest known gravitationally lensed galaxy at z ≥ 5, based on new multiband Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging data. The lensed galaxy has a redshift of z = 5.043, placing it shortly after the end of the “Epoch of Reionization,” and an AB magnitude z AB = 20.47 mag (Khullar et al.). As such, it serves as a touchstone for future research of that epoch. The high spatial resolution of HST reveals internal structure in the giant arc, from which we identify 15 constraints and construct a robust lens model. We use the lens model to extract the cluster mass and lensing magnification. We find that the mass enclosed within the Einstein radius of the z = 1.001 cluster lens is M(<5.″77)=1.079−0.007+0.023×1013M☉ , significantly lower than other known strong lensing clusters at its redshift. The average magnification of the giant arc is 〈μ arc〉 = 76−20+40 , a factor of 2.4−0.7+1.4 greater than previously estimated from ground-based data; the flux-weighted average magnification is 〈μ arc〉 = 92−31+37 . We update the current measurements of the stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) of the source for the revised magnification to log(M⋆/M⊙)= 9.7 ± 0.3 and SFR = 10.3−4.4+7.0 M ⊙ yr−1, respectively. The powerful lensing magnification acting upon COOL J1241+2219 resolves the source and enables future studies of the properties of its star formation on a clump-by-clump basis. The lensing analysis presented here will support upcoming multiwavelength characterization with HST and JWST data of the stellar mass assembly and physical properties of this high-redshift lensed galaxy

COOL-LAMPS. IV. A Sample of Bright Strongly Lensed Galaxies at 3 < z < 4

We report the discovery of five bright, strong gravitationally lensed galaxies at 3 < z < 4: COOL J0101+2055 (z = 3.459), COOL J0104−0757 (z = 3.480), COOL J0145+1018 (z = 3.310), COOL J0516−2208 (z = 3.549), and COOL J1356+0339 (z = 3.753). These galaxies have magnitudes of rAB, zAB < 21.81 mag and are lensed by galaxy clusters at 0.26 < z < 1. This sample nearly doubles the number of known bright lensed galaxies with extended arcs at 3 < z < 4. We characterize the lensed galaxies using ground-based grz/giy imaging and optical spectroscopy. We report model-based magnitudes and derive stellar masses, dust content, and star formation rates via stellar population synthesis modeling. Building lens models based on ground-based imaging, we estimate source magnifications ranging from ∼29 to ∼180. Combining these analyses, we derive demagnified stellar masses in the range ${\mathrm{log}}_{10}({M}_{* }/{M}_{\odot })\sim 9.69-10.75$ and star formation rates in the youngest age bin in the range ${\mathrm{log}}_{10}(\mathrm{SFR}/({M}_{\odot }\,{\mathrm{yr}}^{-1}))\sim 0.39-1.46$, placing the sample galaxies on the massive end of the star-forming main sequence in this redshift interval. In addition, three of the five galaxies have strong Lyα emissions, offering unique opportunities to study Lyα emitters at high redshift in future work

COOL-LAMPS VI: Lens model and New Constraints on the Properties of COOL J1241+2219, a Bright z = 5 Lyman Break Galaxy and its z = 1 Cluster Lens

We present a strong lensing analysis of COOL J1241+2219, the brightest known gravitationally lensed galaxy at $z \geq 5$, based on new multi-band Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging data. The lensed galaxy has a redshift of z=5.043, placing it shortly after the end of the Epoch of Reionization, and an AB magnitude z_AB=20.47 mag (Khullar et al. 2021). As such, it serves as a touchstone for future research of that epoch. The high spatial resolution of HST reveals internal structure in the giant arc, from which we identify 15 constraints and construct a robust lens model. We use the lens model to extract cluster mass and lensing magnification. We find that the mass enclosed within the Einstein radius of the z=1.001 cluster lens is M(<5.77'')=$1.079^{+0.023}_{-0.007}$, significantly lower than other known strong lensing clusters at its redshift. The average magnification of the giant arc is $=76^{+40}_{-20}$, a factor of $2.4^{+1.4}_{-0.7}$ greater than previously estimated from ground-based data; the flux-weighted average magnification is $=92^{+37}_{-31}$ We update the current measurements of the stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) of the source for the revised magnification, $\log(M_\star/M_{\odot})=9.7\pm0.3$ and ${\rm SFR} = 10.3^{+7.0}_{-4.4}$ $M_{\odot}$yr$^{-1}$. The powerful lensing magnification acting upon COOL J1241+2219 resolves the source and enables future studies of the properties of its star formation on a clump-by-clump basis. The lensing analysis presented here will support upcoming multiwavelength characterization with HST and JWST data of the stellar mass assembly and physical properties of this high-redshift lensed galaxy.Comment: Submitted to Ap

COOL-LAMPS. VII. Quantifying Strong-lens Scaling Relations with 177 Cluster-scale Gravitational Lenses in DECaLS

We compute parametric measurements of the Einstein-radius-enclosed total mass for 177 cluster-scale strong gravitational lenses identified by the ChicagO Optically-selected Lenses Located At the Margins of Public Surveys (COOL-LAMPS) collaboration with lens redshifts ranging from $0.2 \lessapprox z \lessapprox 1.0$ using only two measured parameters in each lensing system: the Einstein radius, and the brightest-cluster-galaxy (BCG) redshift. We then constrain the Einstein-radius-enclosed luminosity and stellar mass by fitting parametric spectral energy distributions (SEDs) with aperture photometry from the Dark Energy Camera Legacy Survey (DECaLS) in the $g$, $r$, and $z$-band Dark Energy Camera (DECam) filters. We find that the BCG redshift, enclosed total mass, and enclosed luminosity are strongly correlated and well described by a planar relationship in 3D space. We also find that the enclosed total mass and stellar mass are correlated with a logarithmic slope of $0.443\pm0.035$, and the enclosed total mass and stellar-to-total mass fraction are correlated with a logarithmic slope of $-0.563\pm0.035$. The correlations described here can be used to validate strong lensing candidates in upcoming imaging surveys -- such as Rubin/Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) -- in which an algorithmic treatment of lensing systems will be needed due to the sheer volume of data these surveys will produce.Comment: 17 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to The Astrophysical Journal. v3: updated authors, formatting, grammar, and reference

From the Fire: Characterizing the Phoenix Stellar Stream

We use six years of data from the Dark Energy Survey (DES) to present a detailed photometric characterization of the Phoenix stream, a 15-degree long, thin, dynamically cold, low-metallicity stream in the southern hemisphere. We use natural splines, a non-parametric modeling technique, to simultaneously fit the stream track, width, and linear density. This updated stream model allows us to improve measurements of the heliocentric distance (17.38±0.08 kpc) and distance gradient (0.01±0.02 kpc/deg) of Phoenix. We measure linear intensity variations on degree scales, as well as wiggles in the stream track on approximately 2-degree scales, suggesting that the stream may have been disturbed during its formation and/or evolution. We recover three peaks and three gaps in linear intensity along with fluctuations in the stream track. Such small-scale fluctuations are not common in other thin streams, and the study of Phoenix offers a unique perspective on the ways that gravitational perturbations affect stellar streams. We discuss possible sources of perturbations to Phoenix including baryonic structures in the Galaxy and dark matter subhalos

S 5: The Orbital and Chemical Properties of One Dozen Stellar Streams

We report the kinematic, orbital, and chemical properties of 12 stellar streams with no evident progenitors using line-of-sight velocities and metallicities from the Southern Stellar Stream Spectroscopic Survey (S 5), proper motions from Gaia EDR3, and distances derived from distance tracers or the literature. This data set provides the largest homogeneously analyzed set of streams with full 6D kinematics and metallicities. All streams have heliocentric distances between ∼10 and 50 kpc. The velocity and metallicity dispersions show that half of the stream progenitors were disrupted dwarf galaxies (DGs), while the other half originated from disrupted globular clusters (GCs), hereafter referred to as DG and GC streams. Based on the mean metallicities of the streams and the mass-metallicity relation, the luminosities of the progenitors of the DG streams range between those of Carina and Ursa Major I (-9.5 M V -5.5). Four of the six GC streams have mean metallicities of [Fe/H] < -2, more metal poor than typical Milky Way (MW) GCs at similar distances. Interestingly, the 300S and Jet GC streams are the only streams on retrograde orbits in our dozen-stream sample. Finally, we compare the orbital properties of the streams with known DGs and GCs in the MW, finding several possible associations. Some streams appear to have been accreted with the recently discovered Gaia-Enceladus-Sausage system, and others suggest that GCs were formed in and accreted together with the progenitors of DG streams whose stellar masses are similar to those of Draco to Carina (∼105-106 M)