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Published March 4, 2001 | Published
Journal Article Open

The Calar Alto Deep Imaging Survey: K-band Galaxy number counts

Abstract

We present K-band number counts for the faint galaxies in the Calar Alto Deep Imaging Survey (CADIS). We covered 4 CADIS fields, a total area of 0.2 deg^2, in the broad band filters B, R and K. We detect about 4000 galaxies in the K-band images, with a completeness limit of K = 19.75 mag, and derive the K-band galaxy number counts in the range of 14.25 < K < 19.75 mag. This is the largest medium deep K-band survey to date in this magnitude range. The B- and R-band number counts are also derived, down to completeness limits of B = 24.75 mag and R = 23.25 mag. The K-selected galaxies in this magnitude range are of particular interest, since some medium deep near-infrared surveys have identified breaks of both the slope of the K-band number counts and the mean B - K color at K = 17 ~ 18 mag. There is, however, a significant disagreement in the K-band number counts among the existing surveys. Our large near-infrared selected galaxy sample allows us to establish the presence of a clear break in the slope at K = 17.0 mag from dlog N/dm = 0.64 at brighter magnitudes to dlog N/dm = 0.36 at the fainter end. We construct no-evolution and passive evolution models, and find that the passive evolution model can simultaneously fit the B-, R- and K-band number counts well. The B - K colors show a clear trend to bluer colors for K > 18 mag. We also find that most of the K = 18 – 20 mag galaxies have a B - K color bluer than the prediction of a no-evolution model for an L⋆ Sbc galaxy, implying either significant evolution, even for massive galaxies, or the existence of an extra population of small galaxies.

Additional Information

© 2001 ESO. Article published by EDP Sciences. Received 17 April 2000; Accepted 4 January 2001; Published online 15 March 2001. Based on observations collected at the German-Spanish Astronomical Centre, Calar Alto, operated by the Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Heidelberg, jointly with the Spanish National Commission for Astronomy.

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