A Matched-Filter Analysis of the Tidal Tails of the Globular Cluster Palomar 5

Abstract

The tidal tails of the globular cluster Palomar 5 are analyzed over a 41 deg2 area of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey photometric catalogs. The matched filter algorithm provides the maximum possible signal-to-noise detection of the cluster stars over the measured background, and the expected and actual effectiveness of the technique in the context of this data set is discussed. The stellar background is examined in some detail for systematic variation as a function of Galactic position in order to assess its effect on the detection efficiency. Of the total number of Pal 5 stars detected, 45% are out in the tails. The tails are found as the only additional 3 σ overdensity of cluster stars over the entire 41 deg2 area studied. The annular-averaged density of stars along the tails is fitted to a power law in radius with best-fit index - 1.58 ± 0.07, significantly steeper than that predicted from a constant orbit-averaged mass-loss rate.