The VMC survey I. Strategy and first data

被引：271

作者：

Cioni, M. -R. L. ^{[1
,2
]}

Clementini, G. ^{[3
]}

Girardi, L. ^{[4
]}

Guandalini, R. ^{[1
]}

Gullieuszik, M. ^{[5
]}

Miszalski, B. ^{[1
]}

Moretti, M. -I. ^{[6
]}

Ripepi, V. ^{[7
]}

Rubele, S. ^{[4
]}

Bagheri, G. ^{[1
]}

Bekki, K. ^{[8
]}

Cross, N. ^{[9
]}

de Blok, W. J. G. ^{[10
]}

de Grijs, R. ^{[11
]}

Emerson, J. P. ^{[12
]}

Evans, C. J. ^{[13
]}

Gibson, B. ^{[14
]}

Gonzales-Solares, E. ^{[15
]}

Groenewegen, M. A. T. ^{[5
]}

Irwin, M. ^{[15
]}

Ivanov, V. D. ^{[16
]}

Lewis, J. ^{[15
]}

Marconi, M. ^{[7
]}

Marquette, J. -B. ^{[17
,18
]}

Mastropietro, C. ^{[19
]}

Moore, B. ^{[20
]}

Napiwotzki, R. ^{[1
]}

Naylor, T. ^{[21
]}

Oliveira, J. M. ^{[22
]}

Read, M. ^{[9
]}

Sutorius, E. ^{[9
]}

van Loon, J. Th. ^{[22
]}

Wilkinson, M. I. ^{[23
]}

Wood, P. R. ^{[24
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Hertfordshire, Hatfield AL10 9AB, Herts, England

[2] Univ Observ Munich, D-81679 Munich, Germany

[3] Osservatorio Astron Bologna, INAF, I-40127 Bologna, Italy

[4] Osserv Astron Padova, INAF, I-35122 Padua, Italy

[5] Royal Observ Belgium, B-1180 Uccle, Belgium

[6] Univ Bologna, Dept Astron, I-40127 Bologna, Italy

[7] Osserv Astron Capodimonte, INAF, I-80131 Naples, Italy

[8] Univ Western Australia, ICRAR, Crawley, WA 6009, Australia

[9] Univ Edinburgh, Inst Astron, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, Midlothian, Scotland

[10] Univ Cape Town, ZA-7701 Rondebosch, South Africa

[11] Peking Univ, Kavli Inst Astron & Astrophys, Beijing 100871, Peoples R China

[12] Queen Mary Univ London, London E1 4NS, England

[13] UK Astron Technol Ctr, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, Midlothian, Scotland

[14] Univ Cent Lancashire, Ctr Astrophys, Preston PR1 2HE, Lancs, England

[15] Univ Cambridge, Inst Astron, Cambridge CB3 0HA, England

[16] European So Observ, Santiago 19, Chile

[17] Univ Paris 06, UPMC, Inst Astrophys Paris, UMR7095, F-75014 Paris, France

[18] CNRS, UMR7095, Inst Astrophys Paris, F-75014 Paris, France

[19] UPMC, CNRS, LERMA, Observ Paris, F-75014 Paris, France

[20] Univ Zurich, Inst Theoret Phys, CH-8001 Zurich, Switzerland

[21] Univ Exeter, Sch Phys, Exeter EX4 4QL, Devon, England

[22] Univ Keele, Sch Phys & Geog Sci, Keele ST5 5BG, Staffs, England

[23] Univ Leicester, Leicester LE1 7RH, Leics, England

[24] RSAA, Mt Stromlo Observ, Weston, ACT 2611, Australia

来源：

ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS | 2011年 / 527卷

基金：

美国国家科学基金会;

关键词：

magellanic clouds; infrared: stars; stars: variables: Cepheids; stars: variables: RR Lyrae; Hertzsprung-Russell and C-M diagrams; survey; LARGE-MAGELLANIC-CLOUD; RR LYRAE STARS; GRAVITATIONAL LENSING EXPERIMENT; NEAR-INFRARED SURVEYS; POINT-SOURCE CATALOG; OGLE-III CATALOG; PLANETARY-NEBULAE; STELLAR POPULATIONS; DWARF GALAXIES; LUMINOSITY FUNCTION;

D O I：

10.1051/0004-6361/201016137

中图分类号：

P1 [天文学];

学科分类号：

0704 ;

摘要：

Context. The new VISual and Infrared Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) has started operations. Over its first five years it will be collecting data for six public surveys, one of which is the near-infrared YJK(s) VISTA survey of the Magellanic Clouds system (VMC). This survey comprises the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), the Small Magellanic Cloud, the Magellanic Bridge connecting the two galaxies and two fields in the Magellanic Stream. Aims. This paper provides an overview of the VMC survey strategy and presents first science results. The main goals of the VMC survey are the determination of the spatially-resolved star-formation history and the three-dimensional structure of the Magellanic system. The VMC survey is therefore designed to reach stars as faint as the oldest main sequence turn-off point and to constrain the mean magnitude of pulsating variables such as RR Lyrae stars and Cepheids. This paper focuses on observations of VMC fields in the LMC obtained between November 2009 and March 2010. These observations correspond to a completeness of 7% of the planned LMC fields. Methods. The VMC data are comprised of multi-epoch observations which are executed following specific time constraints. The data were reduced using the VISTA Data Flow System pipeline with source catalogues, including astrometric and photometric corrections, produced and made available via the VISTA Science Archive. The VMC data will be released to the astronomical community following the European Southern Observatory's Public Survey policy. The analysis of the data shows that the sensitivity in each wave band agrees with expectations. Uncertainties and completeness of the data are also derived. Results. The first science results, aimed at assessing the scientific quality of the VMC data, include an overview of the distribution of stars in colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams, the detection of planetary nebulae and stellar clusters, and the K-s band light-curves of variable stars. Conclusions. The VMC survey represents a tremendous improvement, in spatial resolution and sensitivity, on previous panoramic observations of the Magellanic system in the near-infrared, providing a powerful complement to deep observations at other wavelengths.

引用

页数：22

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