We use surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) measurements to constrain the distance to low surface brightness (LSB) dwarfs in the vicinity of M101. Recent work has discovered many LSB candidate satellite companions of M101. However, without accurate distances, it is problematic to identify these dwarfs as physical satellites of M101. We use CFHT Legacy Survey data to measure the SBF signal for 43 candidate dwarfs. The data are deep enough that we constrain 33 of these to be unassociated background galaxies by their lack of SBF. We measure high S/N SBF signals for two of the candidate dwarfs, which are consistent with being at the distance of M101. The remaining candidates are too LSB and/or small for their distances to be constrained. Still, by comparison with Local Group dwarfs, we argue that the M101 satellite system is likely now complete down to stellar masses of similar to 5 x 10(5) M-circle dot. We also provide a new SBF distance for the nearby dwarf UGC 8882, which suggests that it might be a physical satellite of M101; however, further study is merited. By constraining the distances to a majority of the candidates using only archival data, our work demonstrates the usefulness of SBF for nearby LSB galaxies and for studying the satellite systems of nearby massive galaxies.

We explore the use of ground-based surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) measurements to constrain distances to nearby dwarf galaxies. Using archival CFHT Megacam imaging data for a sample of 28 nearby dwarfs, we demonstrate that reliable SBF measurements and distances accurate to 15% are possible even for very low surface brightness (mu(0i) > 24 mag arcsec(-2)) galaxies with modest, similar to hour-long exposures with CFHT. Combining our sample with a recent sample of six dwarfs with SBF measured with Hubble Space Telescope (HST) from the literature, we provide the most robust empirical SBF calibration to date for the blue colors expected for these low-mass systems. Our calibration is credible over the color range 0.3 less than or similar to g - i less than or similar to 0.8 mag. It is also the first SBF calibration tied completely to tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) distances as each galaxy in the sample has a literature TRGB distance. We find that even though the intrinsic scatter in SBF increases for blue galaxies, the rms scatter in the calibration is still less than or similar to 0.3 mag. We verify our measurements by comparing with HST SBF measurements and detailed image simulations. We argue that ground-based SBF is a very useful tool for characterizing dwarf satellite systems and field dwarfs in the nearby, D less than or similar to 20 Mpc universe.

Context. In the era of massive spectroscopy surveys, automated stellar parameter pipelines and their validation are extremely important for an efficient scientific exploitation of the spectra.

We present the first release of the MaNGA Stellar Library (MaStar), which is a large, well-calibrated, high-quality empirical library covering the wavelength range 3622-10354 angstrom at a resolving power of R similar to 1800. The spectra were obtained using the same instrument as used by the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) project, by piggybacking on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV)/Apache Point Observatory Galaxy Evolution Experiment 2-N ( APOGEE-2N) observations. Compared to previous empirical libraries, the MaStar library will have a higher number of stars and a more comprehensive stellar-parameter coverage, especially of cool dwarfs, low-metallicity stars, and stars with different [alpha/Fe], achieved by a sophisticated target-selection strategy that takes advantage of stellar-parameter catalogs from the literature. This empirical library will provide a new basis for stellar-population synthesis and is particularly well suited for stellar-population analysis of MaNGA galaxies. The first version of the library contains 8646 high-quality per-visit spectra for 3321 unique stars. Compared to photometry, the relative flux calibration of the library is accurate to 3.9% in g - r, 2.7% in r - i, and 2.2% in i - z. The data are released as part of SDSS Data Release 15. We expect the final release of the library to contain more than 10,000 stars.

We report spectroscopic measurements of stars in the recently discovered young stellar association Price-Whelan+1 (PW+1), which was found in the vicinity of the Leading Arm (LA) of the Magellanic Stream (MS). We obtained Magellan+MIKE high-resolution spectra of the 28 brightest stars in PW+1. and used The Cannon to determine their stellar parameters. We find that the mean metallicity of PW+1. is [Fe/H] = -1.23 with a small scatter of 0.06 dex and the mean RV is V-hel = 276.7 km s(-1) with a dispersion of 11.0 km s(-1). Our results are consistent in T-eff, log g, and [Fe/H] with the young and metal-poor characteristics (116 Myr and [Fe/H] = -1.1) determined for PW+1. from our discovery paper. We find a strong correlation between the spatial pattern of the PW.1. stars and the LA II. gas with an offset of -10 degrees.15 in LMS. and +1 degrees. 55 in B-MS. The similarity in metallicity, velocity, and spatial patterns indicates that PW.1. likely originated in LA II. We find that the spatial and kinematic separation between LA II. and PW+1. can be explained by ram pressure from Milky Way (MW) gas. Using orbit integrations that account for the LMC and MW halo and outer disk gas, we constrain the halo gas density at the orbital pericenter of PW+1 to be n(halo) (17 kpc) = 2.7(-2.0)(+3.4) x 10(-3) atoms and the disk gas density at the midplane at 20 kpc to be n(disk) (20 kpc, 0) = 6.0(-2.0)(+1.5) x 10(-2) atoms cm(-3). We, therefore, conclude that PW+1. formed from the LA II. of the MS, making it a powerful constraint on the MW-Magellanic interaction.

We present deep spectroscopy from Keck/DEIMOS of Andromeda I, III, V, VII, and X, all of which are dwarf spheroidal satellites of M31. The sample includes 256 spectroscopic members across all five dSphs. We confirm previous measurements of the velocity dispersions and dynamical masses, and we provide upper limits on bulk rotation. Our measurements confirm that M31 satellites obey the same relation between stellar mass and stellar metallicity as Milky Way (MW) satellites and other dwarf galaxies in the Local Group. The metallicity distributions show trends with stellar mass that are similar to those of MW satellites, including evidence in massive satellites for external influence, like pre-enrichment or gas accretion. We present the first measurements of individual element ratios, like [Si/Fe], in the M31 system, as well as measurements of the average [alpha/Fe] ratio. The trends of [alpha/Fe] with [Fe/H] also follow the same galaxy mass-dependent patterns as MW satellites. Less massive galaxies have more steeply declining slopes of [alpha/Fe] that begin at lower [Fe/H]. Finally, we compare the chemical evolution of M31 satellites to M31's Giant Stellar Stream and smooth halo. The properties of the M31 system support the theoretical prediction that the inner halo is composed primarily of massive galaxies that were accreted early. As a result, the inner halo exhibits higher [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe] than surviving satellite galaxies.

We present the results of an extensive search for dwarf satellite galaxies around 10 primary host galaxies in the Local Volume (LV, D < 12 Mpc) using archival CFHT/MegaCam imaging data. The hosts span a wide range in properties, with stellar masses ranging from that of the Large Magellanic Cloud to similar to 3 times that of the Milky Way. The surveyed hosts are: NGC 1023, NGC 1156, NGC 2903, NGC 4258, NGC 4565, NGC 4631, NGC 5023, M51, M64, and M104. We detect satellite candidates using a consistent semi-automated detection algorithm that is optimized for the detection of low surface brightness objects. Depending on the host, our completeness limit is M-g similar to 8 to -10 (assuming the distance of the host). We detect objects with surface brightness down to mu(0,g) similar to 26 mag arcsec(-2) at greater than or similar to 90% completeness. The survey areas of the six best-surveyed hosts cover most of the inner projected R < 150 kpc area, which will roughly double the number of massive LV hosts surveyed at this level of area and luminosity completeness, once distances are measured for the candidates. The number of detected candidates range from 1 around M64 to 33 around NGC 4258. In total, 155 candidates are found, of which 93 are new. While we defer an analysis of the satellite luminosity functions of the hosts until distance information is available for the candidates, we do show that the candidates are primarily red, spheroidal systems with properties roughly consistent with known satellites in the Local Group.

Like massive galaxies, dwarf galaxies are expected to undergo major mergers with other dwarfs. However, the end state of these mergers and the role that merging plays in regulating dwarf star formation are uncertain. Using imaging from the Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program, we construct a sample of dwarf dwarf mergers and examine the star formation and host properties of the merging systems. These galaxies are selected via an automated detection algorithm from a sample of 6875 spectroscopically selected isolated dwarf galaxies at z < 0.12 and log(M, /Mb) < 9.6 from the Galaxy and Mass Assembly and Sloan Digital Sky Survey spectroscopic campaigns. We find a total tidal feature detection fraction of 3.29% (6.1% when considering only galaxies at z < 0.05). The tidal feature detection fraction rises strongly as a function of star formation activity; 15%-20% of galaxies with extremely high Ha equivalent width (Ha EW > 250 A) show signs of tidal debris. Galaxies that host tidal debris are also systematically bluer than the average galaxy at fixed stellar mass. These findings extend the observed dwarf dwarf merger sequence with a significant sample of dwarf galaxies, indicating that star formation triggered in mergers between dwarf galaxies continues after coalescence.

Many problems in contemporary astrophysics-from understanding the formation of black holes to untangling the chemical evolution of galaxies-rely on knowledge about binary stars. This, in turn, depends on the discovery and characterization of binary companions for large numbers of different kinds of stars in different chemical and dynamical environments. Current stellar spectroscopic surveys observe hundreds of thousands to millions of stars with (typically) few observational epochs, which allows for binary discovery but makes orbital characterization challenging. We use a custom Monte Carlo sampler (The Joker) to perform discovery and characterization of binary systems through radial velocities, in the regime of sparse, noisy, and poorly sampled multi-epoch data. We use it to generate posterior samplings in Keplerian parameters for 232,495 sources released in APOGEE Data Release 16. Our final catalog contains 19,635 high-confidence close-binary (P less than or similar to few years, a less than or similar to few

We present chemical abundances of red giant branch (RGB) stars in the dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellite system of Andromeda (M31), using spectral synthesis of medium-resolution (R similar to 6000) spectra obtained with the Keck II telescope and Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrometer spectrograph via the Spectroscopic and Photometric Landscape of Andromeda's Stellar Halo survey. We coadd stars according to their similarity in photometric metallicity or effective temperature to obtain a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) high enough to measure average [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe] abundances. We validate our method using high S/N spectra of RGB stars in Milky Way globular clusters, as well as deep observations for a subset of the M31 dSphs in our sample. For this set of validation coadds, we compare the weighted average abundance of the individual stars with the abundance determined from the coadd. We present individual and coadded measurements of [Fe/H] and [alpha/Fe] for stars in 10 M31 dSphs, including the first [alpha/Fe] measurements for And IX, XIV, XV, and XVIII. These fainter, less massive dSphs show declining [alpha/Fe] relative to [Fe/H], implying an extended star formation history (SFH). In addition, these dSphs also follow the same mass-metallicity relation found in other Local Group satellites. The conclusions we infer from coadded spectra agree with those from previous measurements in brighter M31 dSphs with individual abundance measurements, as well as conclusions from photometric studies. These abundances greatly increase the number of spectroscopic measurements of the chemical composition of M31's less massive dwarf satellites, which are crucial to understanding their SFH and interaction with the M31 system.