Kinematic sub-populations in dwarf spheroidal galaxies

Abstract

We present new spectroscopic data for twenty six stars in the recently-discovered Canes Venatici I (CVnI) dwarf spheroidal galaxy. We use these data to investigate the recent claim of the presence of two dynamically inconsistent stellar populations in this system (Ibata et al., 2006). We do not find evidence for kinematically distinct populations in our sample and we are able to obtain a mass estimate for CVnI that is consistent with all available data, including previously published data. We discuss possible differences between our sample and the earlier data set and study the general detectability of sub-populations in small kinematic samples. We conclude that in the absence of supporting observational evidence (for example, metallicity gradients), sub-populations in small kinematic samples (typically fewer than 100 stars) should be treated with extreme caution, as their detection depends on multiple parameters and rarely produces a signal at the 3sigma confidence level. It is therefore essential to determine explicitly the statistical significance of any suggested sub-population.