The VVV near-IR galaxy catalogue of the southern Galactic disc

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Alonso, M. V., Baravalle, L. D., Castellón, J. L. Nilo, Villalon, C., Soto, M., Sgró, M. A., Perilla, I. V. Daza, Valotto, C., Lares, M., Minniti, D., Cortés, P. Marchant, Castro, F. Milla, Hempel, M., Alonso-García, J., Macri, L., Pichel, A., Masetti, N., Saito, R. K., Gómez, M.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Alonso, M. V.
Baravalle, L. D.
Castellón, J. L. Nilo
Villalon, C.
Soto, M.
Sgró, M. A.
Perilla, I. V. Daza
Valotto, C.
Lares, M.
Minniti, D.
Cortés, P. Marchant
Castro, F. Milla
Hempel, M.
Alonso-García, J.
Macri, L.
Pichel, A.
Masetti, N.
Saito, R. K.
Gómez, M.
author_facet Alonso, M. V.
Baravalle, L. D.
Castellón, J. L. Nilo
Villalon, C.
Soto, M.
Sgró, M. A.
Perilla, I. V. Daza
Valotto, C.
Lares, M.
Minniti, D.
Cortés, P. Marchant
Castro, F. Milla
Hempel, M.
Alonso-García, J.
Macri, L.
Pichel, A.
Masetti, N.
Saito, R. K.
Gómez, M.
contents The distribution of galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA) is incomplete due to the presence of our own Galaxy. Our research focused on the identification and characterisation of galaxies in the ZoA, using the new near-infrared data from the VVVX survey in the regions that cover the southern Galactic disc. We used our previously-established procedure based on photometric and morphological criteria to identify galaxies. The large data volume collected by the VVVX required alternatives to visual inspection, including artificial intelligence techniques, such as classifiers based on neural networks. The VVV NIR galaxy catalogue is presented, covering the southern Galactic disc, significantly extending the vision down to $K^0_s=16$ mag throughout the ZoA. This catalogue provides positions, photometric and morphological parameters for a total of 167,559 galaxies with their probabilities determined by the CNN and XGBoost algorithms based on image and photometric data, respectively. The construction of the catalogue involves the employment of optimal probability criteria. 14% of these galaxies were confirmed by visual inspection or by matching with previous catalogues. The peculiarities exhibited by distinct regions across the Galactic disc, along with the characteristics of the galaxies, are thoroughly examined. The catalogue serves as a valuable resource for extragalactic studies within the ZoA, providing a crucial complement to the forthcoming radio catalogues and future surveys utilizing the Vera C.~Rubin Observatory and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. We present a deep galaxy map, covering a 1080 sq. deg. region, which reveals that the apparent galaxy density is predominantly influenced by foreground extinction from the Milky Way. However, the presence of intrinsic inhomogeneities, potentially associated with candidate galaxy groups or clusters and filaments, is also discernible.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_19231
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The VVV near-IR galaxy catalogue of the southern Galactic disc
Alonso, M. V.
Baravalle, L. D.
Castellón, J. L. Nilo
Villalon, C.
Soto, M.
Sgró, M. A.
Perilla, I. V. Daza
Valotto, C.
Lares, M.
Minniti, D.
Cortés, P. Marchant
Castro, F. Milla
Hempel, M.
Alonso-García, J.
Macri, L.
Pichel, A.
Masetti, N.
Saito, R. K.
Gómez, M.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The distribution of galaxies in the Zone of Avoidance (ZoA) is incomplete due to the presence of our own Galaxy. Our research focused on the identification and characterisation of galaxies in the ZoA, using the new near-infrared data from the VVVX survey in the regions that cover the southern Galactic disc. We used our previously-established procedure based on photometric and morphological criteria to identify galaxies. The large data volume collected by the VVVX required alternatives to visual inspection, including artificial intelligence techniques, such as classifiers based on neural networks. The VVV NIR galaxy catalogue is presented, covering the southern Galactic disc, significantly extending the vision down to $K^0_s=16$ mag throughout the ZoA. This catalogue provides positions, photometric and morphological parameters for a total of 167,559 galaxies with their probabilities determined by the CNN and XGBoost algorithms based on image and photometric data, respectively. The construction of the catalogue involves the employment of optimal probability criteria. 14% of these galaxies were confirmed by visual inspection or by matching with previous catalogues. The peculiarities exhibited by distinct regions across the Galactic disc, along with the characteristics of the galaxies, are thoroughly examined. The catalogue serves as a valuable resource for extragalactic studies within the ZoA, providing a crucial complement to the forthcoming radio catalogues and future surveys utilizing the Vera C.~Rubin Observatory and the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. We present a deep galaxy map, covering a 1080 sq. deg. region, which reveals that the apparent galaxy density is predominantly influenced by foreground extinction from the Milky Way. However, the presence of intrinsic inhomogeneities, potentially associated with candidate galaxy groups or clusters and filaments, is also discernible.
title The VVV near-IR galaxy catalogue of the southern Galactic disc
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.19231