The DECam MAGIC Survey: Investigating the Jet Stellar Stream with Photometric Metallicities

TL;DR

This study uses photometric metallicities from DECam data to identify Jet stream stars, revealing its extent and morphology, and providing candidates for spectroscopic follow-up to understand its dynamics and dark matter interactions.

Contribution

It demonstrates the effectiveness of photometric metallicities combined with Gaia data in mapping and analyzing the Jet stellar stream's structure.

Findings

Identified 213 candidate Jet stream members using photometric metallicities and Gaia proper motions.

Detected a fanning of the stream toward its far end, indicating possible gravitational perturbations.

Provided a list of candidate members for future spectroscopic studies.

Abstract

Stellar streams are dynamically fragile structures formed by the tidal disruption of dwarf galaxies and stellar clusters. These objects are valuable tracers of the gravitational potential and accretion history of the Milky Way, and are key probes for the presence and interactions of starless dark matter subhalos. The Jet stream is a $\sim 30^\circ$-long stellar stream that is situated at 30.4 kpc and originates from a disrupted globular cluster. It consists of metal-poor stars that follow a retrograde orbit, reducing the impulse imparted from the Milky Way bar and making it especially sensitive to gravitational perturbations from dark matter subhalos. This paper investigates the known extent of the Jet stream by leveraging photometric metallicities derived from a narrowband filter centered on the Ca II H&K lines at $\sim$3950A on the Dark Energy Camera (DECam), as part of the Mapping the Ancient Galaxy in CaHK (MAGIC) survey. The wide field-of-view of DECam enables the efficient derivation of photometric metallicities for stars across the full extent of the stream, allowing for a metallicity-based selection to identify likely members. We demonstrate the efficacy of photometric metallicities in isolating stream members when used with Gaia DR3 proper motions, identifying a sample of 213 candidate Jet stream member stars. This then allows for the study of stream morphology, through which we identify a clear fanning of the stream toward the end farther from the Milky Way bar. We provide a list of candidate members, enabling spectroscopic follow-up of the Jet stream to facilitate further studies of its dynamics.