Off the beaten path: Gaia reveals GD-1 stars outside of the main stream

TL;DR

This paper uses Gaia and Pan-STARRS data to extend the GD-1 stellar stream, identify potential progenitor locations, and detect perturbations, providing new insights into the Milky Way's dark matter distribution.

Contribution

It presents an expanded map of the GD-1 stream, revealing new features and perturbed members, enhancing dynamical modeling for dark matter studies.

Findings

Extended the GD-1 stream by 20 degrees

Identified plausible progenitor locations

Detected stream perturbations and gaps

Abstract

Tidally-disrupted globular clusters are transformed into thin, dynamically-cold streams of stars that are extremely valuable tracers of the large- and small-scale distribution of mass in the Galaxy. Using data from the Gaia second data release combined with Pan-STARRS photometry, we present a sample of highly-probable members of the longest cold stream in the Milky Way, GD-1. The resulting map of GD-1: (1) extends the apparent length of the stream by $20^\circ$, (2) reveals plausible locations for the progenitor, (3) detects high-contrast gaps along the stream, and (4) indicates the existence of stream members perturbed off the main stream track. These discoveries are only possible because of the exquisite astrometry from Gaia, which permits a clean separation of the stream from Milky Way stars. The additional length and a proper treatment of the progenitor will aid in dynamical modeling of GD-1 for mapping the large-scale dark matter distribution. The complex morphology of the stream points to a turbulent history; detailed phase-space properties of the perturbed stream members could potentially constrain dark matter substructure in the Milky Way.