The MUSE view of the Sculptor galaxy: survey overview and the planetary nebulae luminosity function

TL;DR

This study presents a high-resolution integral field spectroscopy survey of the Sculptor galaxy, identifying ~500 planetary nebulae to refine its distance measurement and analyze spatial variations in the planetary nebula luminosity function.

Contribution

It provides the largest and highest resolution PNLF-based distance estimate for NGC 253, revealing spatial variations and the impact of dust extinction on distance measurements.

Findings

PNLF-based distance is 17% higher than TRGB estimates.

Distance estimates vary between galaxy center and outer disk.

Dust extinction significantly affects PNLF and distance measurements.

Abstract

NGC 253, the Sculptor galaxy, is the southern, massive, star-forming disk galaxy closest to the Milky Way. In this work, we present a new 103-pointing MUSE mosaic of this galaxy covering the majority of its star-forming disk up to 0.75xR25. With an area of ~20x5 arcmin2 (~20x5 kpc2, projected) and a physical resolution of ~15 pc, this mosaic constitutes one of the largest, highest physical resolution integral field spectroscopy surveys of any star-forming galaxy to date. Here, we exploit the mosaic to identify a sample of ~500 planetary nebulae (~20 times larger than in previous studies) to build the planetary nebula luminosity function (PNLF) and obtain a new estimate of the distance to NGC 253. The value obtained is 17% higher than estimates returned by other reliable measurements, mainly obtained via the top of the red giant branch method (TRGB). The PNLF also varies between the centre (r < 4 kpc) and the disk of the galaxy. The distance derived from the PNLF of the outer disk is comparable to that of the full sample, while the PNLF of the centre returns a distance ~0.9 Mpc larger. Our analysis suggests that extinction related to the dust-rich interstellar medium and edge-on view of the galaxy (the average E(B-V) across the disk is ~0.35 mag) plays a major role in explaining both the larger distance recovered from the full PNLF and the difference between the PNLFs in the centre and in the disk.