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arXiv · 1204.3091

PHAT Stellar Cluster Survey I. Year 1 Catalog and Integrated Photometry

L. Clifton Johnson·Anil C. Seth·Julianne J. Dalcanton·Nelson Caldwell·Morgan Fouesneau·Dimitrios A. Gouliermis·Paul W. Hodge·Soeren S. Larsen·Knut A. G. Olsen·Izaskun San Roman·Ata Sarajedini·Daniel R. Weisz·Benjamin F. Williams·Lori C. Beerman·Luciana Bianchi·Andrew E. Dolphin·Leo Girardi·Puragra Guhathakurta·Jason Kalirai·Dustin Lang·Antonela Monachesi·Sanjay Nanda·Hans-Walter Rix·Evan D. Skillman
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Abstract

The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an on-going Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin^2). This work presents results derived from the first \sim25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include \sim2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.

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L. Clifton Johnson, Anil C. Seth, Julianne J. Dalcanton, Nelson Caldwell, Morgan Fouesneau, Dimitrios A. Gouliermis, Paul W. Hodge, Soeren S. Larsen, Knut A. G. Olsen, Izaskun San Roman, Ata Sarajedini, Daniel R. Weisz, Benjamin F. Williams, Lori C. Beerman, Luciana Bianchi, Andrew E. Dolphin, Leo Girardi, Puragra Guhathakurta, Jason Kalirai, Dustin Lang, Antonela Monachesi, Sanjay Nanda, Hans-Walter Rix, Evan D. Skillman. 2012-04-13. PHAT Stellar Cluster Survey I. Year 1 Catalog and Integrated Photometry. https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637x%2F752%2F2%2F95

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