The Carnegie Chicago Hubble Program. VI. Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distances to M66 and M96 of the Leo i Group

Taylor J. Hoyt, Wendy L. Freedman, Barry F. Madore, Dylan Hatt, Rachael L. Beaton, In Sung Jang, Myung Gyoon Lee, Andrew J. Monson, Jillian R. Neeley, Jeffrey A. Rich, Violet A. Mager

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18 Scopus citations

Abstract

We determine the distances to the Type Ia supernova host galaxies M66 (NGC 3627) and M96 (NGC 3368) of the Leo I Group using the Tip of the Red Giant Branch (TRGB) method. We target the stellar halos of these galaxies using the Hubble Space Telescope ACS/WFC in the F606W and F814W bandpasses. By pointing to the stellar halos we sample RGB stars predominantly of Population II, minimize host-galaxy reddening, and significantly reduce the effects of source crowding. Our absolute calibration of the I-band TRGB is based on a recent detached eclipsing binary distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud. With this geometric zero-point in hand, we find for M66 and M96, respectively, true distance moduli μ 0 = 30.23 ± 0.04 (stat) ± 0.06 (sys) mag and μ 0 = 30.29 ± 0.02 (stat) ± 0.06 (sys) mag.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number150
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume882
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 10 2019

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Space and Planetary Science

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