Abstract
We report on a search for new low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBGs)
using Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data within the Galaxy And Mass
Assembly (GAMA) equatorial fields. The search method consisted of
masking objects detected with SDSS PHOTO, combining gri images weighted
to maximize the expected signal-to-noise ratio, and smoothing the
images. The processed images were then run through a detection algorithm
that finds all pixels above a set threshold and groups them based on
their proximity to one another. The list of detections was cleaned of
contaminants such as diffraction spikes and the faint wings of masked
objects. From these, selecting potentially the brightest in terms of
total flux, a list of 343 LSBGs was produced having been confirmed using
VISTA Kilo-degree Infrared Galaxy Survey (VIKING) imaging. The
photometry of this sample was refined using the deeper VIKING Z band as
the aperture-defining band. Measuring their g - i and J - K colours
shows that most are consistent with being at redshifts less than 0.2.
The photometry is carried out using an AUTO aperture for each detection
giving surface brightnesses of μr ≳ 25 mag
arcsec-2 and magnitudes of r > 19.8 mag. None of these
galaxies are bright enough to be within the GAMA main survey limit but
could be part of future deeper surveys to measure the low-mass end of
the galaxy stellar mass function.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 2746-2755 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society |
Volume | 463 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 6 Sep 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 11 Dec 2016 |