The Stellar Halo of the Spiral Galaxy NGC 1560

TL;DR

This study reports the detection and characterization of a stellar halo around the spiral galaxy NGC 1560, revealing its metallicity and mass through deep imaging and analysis of stellar populations.

Contribution

First detection and detailed analysis of the stellar halo of NGC 1560, including its metallicity and mass estimates based on deep imaging data.

Findings

Stellar halo detected around NGC 1560.

Halo metallicity estimated at Z ~ Zo/50.

Halo stellar mass approximated at 10^8 Mo.

Abstract

We report on the detection of a stellar halo around NGC 1560, a 10^9 Mo spiral galaxy member of the Maffei group. We obtained deep images in the r and i bands using the 10.4m Gran Telescopio Canarias in a field centered at ~ 3.7 arcmin (projected distance of 3.5 kpc) from the center of this galaxy. The luminosity function and the CMD show a clear excess of stars with respect to the expected foreground level at magnitudes fainter than the RGB tip at the distance of NGC 1560. The color of the halo stars implies a metallicity of Z ~ Zo/50, while their counts correspond to a stellar mass of ~ 10^7 Mo in the sampled region. Assuming a power law profile for the surface mass density of the halo, our data suggest a total stellar mass of 10^8 Mo for the halo of NGC 1560.