Andromeda XXXV: The Faintest Dwarf Satellite of the Andromeda Galaxy

Abstract

We present the discovery of Andromeda XXXV, the faintest Andromeda satellite galaxy discovered to date, identified as an overdensity of stars in the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey and confirmed via Hubble Space Telescope imaging. Located at a heliocentric distance of $92{7}_{-63}^{+76}$ kpc and $15{8}_{-45}^{+57}$ kpc from Andromeda, Andromeda XXXV is an extended ( ${r}_{h}=5{3\,}_{-11}^{+13}$ pc), elliptical ( ϵ = 0.4 ± 0.2), metal-poor ([Fe/H] ∼ −1.9) system, and the least luminous ( M _V = −5.2 ± 0.3) of Andromeda’s dwarf satellites discovered so far. Andromeda XXXV’s properties are consistent with the known population of dwarf galaxies around the Local Group, bearing close structural resemblance to the Canes Venatici II and Hydra II Milky Way (MW) dwarf satellite galaxies. Its stellar population, characterized by a red horizontal branch or a red clump feature, mirrors that of other Andromeda satellite galaxies in showing evidence for a spread in age and metallicity, with no signs of younger stellar generations. This age–metallicity spread is not observed in MW satellites of comparable stellar mass, and highlights the persistent differences between the satellite systems of Andromeda and the MW, extending even into the ultrafaint regime.

Keywords

• Dwarf galaxies
• Andromeda Galaxy