Search for dwarf galaxies in the southwestern sector of the Local cosmic void

TL;DR

This study used DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys to identify 12 high-confidence dwarf galaxy candidates in the Local Void area, including potential new companions to M83 and a possible Milky Way satellite.

Contribution

First systematic search for dwarf galaxies in the Local Void using DESI data, discovering new candidates and a potential Milky Way satellite cluster.

Findings

12 high-confidence dwarf galaxy candidates identified

4 probable new companions to M83

A possible Milky Way satellite or globular cluster discovered

Abstract

We performed a search for new dwarf galaxies in a direction towards the southwestern part of the Local Void using the data on DESI Legacy Imaging Surveys. In a sky area of $\sim1000$ square degrees, we discovered 12 candidates to nearby dwarfs with a high confidence. Four of them are probable new companions to the nearby galaxy M 83 and others are isolated objects. We found also 20 nearby dwarf candidates with a low confidence. Almost all of the detected galaxies are classified as late type dwarfs. A new cluster of bluish stars with an angular diameter of 0.9$^{\prime}$ is revealed by us at a high galactic latitude, $b = -29^{\circ}$. Being at a distance of $\sim70$ kpc, it can be a globular cluster associated with the Milky Way stellar stream Sagittarius dSph or a new ultra-faint satellite of the Milky Way.