Bibcode
DOI
Sheth, Kartik; Regan, Michael; Hinz, Joannah L.; Gil de Paz, Armando; Menéndez-Delmestre, Karín; Muñoz-Mateos, Juan-Carlos; Seibert, Mark; Kim, Taehyun; Laurikainen, Eija; Salo, Heikki; Gadotti, Dimitri A.; Laine, Jarkko; Mizusawa, Trisha; Armus, Lee; Athanassoula, E.; Bosma, Albert; Buta, Ronald J.; Capak, Peter; Jarrett, Thomas H.; Elmegreen, Debra M.; Elmegreen, Bruce G.; Knapen, J. H.; Koda, Jin; Helou, George; Ho, Luis C.; Madore, Barry F.; Masters, Karen L.; Mobasher, Bahram; Ogle, Patrick; Peng, Chien Y.; Schinnerer, Eva; Surace, Jason A.; Zaritsky, Dennis; Comerón, Sébastien; de Swardt, Bonita; Meidt, Sharon E.; Kasliwal, Mansi; Aravena, Manuel
Referencia bibliográfica
Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume 122, issue 898, pp.1397-1414
Fecha de publicación:
12
2010
Número de citas
465
Número de citas referidas
424
Descripción
The Spitzer Survey of Stellar Structure in Galaxies ( 4G ) is
an Exploration Science Legacy Program approved for the Spitzer
post-cryogenic mission. It is a volume-, magnitude-, and size-limited (
d < 40 Mpc , | b | > 30 ° , mBcorr < 15.5 , and
D25 > 1') survey of 2331 galaxies using the Infrared Array
Camera (IRAC) at 3.6 and 4.5 μm. Each galaxy is observed for 240 s
and mapped to ≥ 1.5 × D25 . The final mosaicked
images have a typical 1σ rms noise level of 0.0072 and 0.0093 MJy
sr-1 at 3.6 and 4.5 μm, respectively. Our azimuthally
averaged surface brightness profile typically traces isophotes at
μ3.6 μm ( AB ) ( 1 σ ) ˜ 27 mag
arcsec-2 , equivalent to a stellar mass surface density of
˜ 1 M&sun; pc-2. S4G thus
provides an unprecedented data set for the study of the distribution of
mass and stellar structures in the local universe. This large, unbiased,
and extremely deep sample of all Hubble types from dwarfs to spirals to
ellipticals will allow for detailed structural studies, not only as a
function of stellar mass, but also as a function of the local
environment. The data from this survey will serve as a vital testbed for
cosmological simulations predicting the stellar mass properties of
present-day galaxies. This article introduces the survey and describes
the sample selection, the significance of the 3.6 and 4.5 μm bands
for this study, and the data collection and survey strategies. We
describe the S4G data analysis pipeline and present
measurements for a first set of galaxies, observed in both the cryogenic
and warm mission phases of Spitzer. For every galaxy we tabulate the
galaxy diameter, position angle, axial ratio, inclination at
μ3.6 μm ( AB ) = 25.5 , and 26.5 mag
arcsec-2 (equivalent to ≈ μB ( AB ) = 27.2
and 28.2 mag arcsec-2 , respectively). These measurements
will form the initial S4G catalog of galaxy properties. We
also measure the total magnitude and the azimuthally averaged radial
profiles of ellipticity, position angle, surface brightness, and color.
Finally, using the galaxy-fitting code GALFIT, we deconstruct each
galaxy into its main constituent stellar components: the bulge/spheroid,
disk, bar, and nuclear point source, where necessary. Together, these
data products will provide a comprehensive and definitive catalog of
stellar structures, mass, and properties of galaxies in the nearby
universe and will enable a variety of scientific investigations, some of
which are highlighted in this introductory S4G survey paper.