A MegaCam Survey of Outer Halo Satellites. VII. A Single Sérsic Index versus Effective Radius Relation for Milky Way Outer Halo Satellites

Abstract

In this work, we use structural properties of the Milky Way's outer halo (R_G > 25 kpc) satellites (dwarf spheroidal galaxies, ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxies and globular clusters (GCs)) derived from deep, wide-field, and homogeneous data to present evidence of a correlation in the Sérsic index versus effective radius plane followed by a large fraction of outer halo GCs and satellite dwarf galaxies. We show that this correlation can be entirely reproduced by fitting empirical relations in the central surface brightness versus absolute magnitude and Sérsic index versus absolute magnitude parameter spaces, and by assuming the existence of two types of outer halo GCs: one of high surface brightness (HSB group), with properties similar to those of inner halo clusters; and another of low surface brightness (LSB group), which share characteristics with dwarf spheroidal and UFD galaxies. Given the similarities of LSB clusters with dwarf spheroidal and UFD galaxies, we discuss the possibility that outer halo clusters also originated inside dark matter halos and that tidal forces from different host galaxy potentials are responsible for the different properties between HSB and LSB clusters.