Exploring Halo Substructure with Giant Stars: I. Survey Description and Calibration of the Photometric Search Technique

Abstract

We have begun a survey of the structure of the Milky Way halo, as well as the halos of other Local Group galaxies, as traced by their constituent giant stars. These giant stars are identified via large area, CCD photometric campaigns. Here we present the basis for our photometric search method, which relies on the gravity sensitivity of the Mg I triplet + MgH features near 5150 Angstroms in F-K stars, and which is sensed by the flux in the intermediate band DDO51 filter. To calibrate our (M-T_2, M-DDO51) diagram as a means to discriminate field giant stars from nearby dwarfs, we utilize new photometry of the main sequences of the open clusters NGC 3680 and NGC 2477 and the red giant branches of the clusters NGC 3680, Melotte 66 and omega Centauri, supplemented with data on field stars, globular clusters and open clusters by Doug Geisler and collaborators. By combining the data on stars from different clusters, and by taking advantage of the wide abundance spread within omega Centauri, we verify the primary dependence of the M-DDO51 color on luminosity, and demonstrate the secondary sensitivity to metallicity among giant stars. Our empirical results are found to be generally consistent with those from analysis of synthetic spectra by Paltoglou & Bell [1994, MNRAS, 268, 793].