Mock Observations of Multiple Stellar Populations in Tidal Streams of Palomar 5 for the Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope

TL;DR

This study assesses the capability of the upcoming Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope to detect multiple stellar populations in the Palomar 5 stellar stream, finding current limitations due to distance and proper motion measurement challenges.

Contribution

The paper provides a feasibility analysis of using CSST/SC for MP detection in distant stellar streams, highlighting the need for multi-epoch observations and proper motion data.

Findings

CSST/SC cannot resolve MPs in streams beyond 8 kpc with single exposures.

Proper motion data is essential for disentangling stream members at large distances.

Multi-epoch, multi-band observations are necessary for future MP studies of Palomar 5.

Abstract

Observations show that multiple stellar populations (MPs) are ubiquitous in globular clusters. The Hubble Space Telescope (HST) has been a pivotal tool for previous photometric studies of MPs. The Chinese Space Station Survey Telescope (CSST) is a two-meter telescope scheduled for launch. One of its imaging instruments, the Survey Camera (SC), combines ultraviolet sensitivity comparable to that of HST with a significantly larger field of view, making it well-suited for conducting large-scale photometric surveys of MPs within extensive stellar stream structures. In this work, we perform mock observations of the stellar stream Palomar 5 to assess the feasibility of detecting MPs with the CSST/SC. The results indicate that the CSST/SC cannot resolve MPs in stellar streams at distances comparable to Palomar 5 ($\gtrsim 20$ kpc) with one or ten 150 s exposures. This fundamental limitation arises from the absence of the precise proper motions required to disentangle stream members. We estimate that successful resolution would require the target stream to be $\lesssim$ 8 kpc under a 150 s exposure. Furthermore, using theoretical color-magnitude diagrams, we find that the CSST/SC $g$-band provides an optimal balance between contamination rate and completeness rate for member identification in the cluster's core. However, this approach fails in the stream due to severe field star contamination. Therefore, future CSST observations of Palomar 5 and its tidal tails will employ multiple epochs across several bands to obtain the deep photometry and proper motion data for a definitive MP analysis.