Reconstructing the spatial distribution of the Galactic stellar halo

Abstract

The VLT Survey Telescope (VST) is going to offer a unique chance to collect deep and wide field photometry in multi-directions, opening the door to a definitive mapping of the Galactic halo. In this shortcoming scenario, we present a pilot study aimed at recovering the halo stellar density using the Capodimonte Deep Field (OACDF, Alcala et al. 2004). Turn-off stars are isolated and the relative color-magnitude diagram (CMD) is compared with synthetic CMDs. Our result is consistent with a power law exponent n ≈ 3 over a range of Galactocentric distances from 8 to 40 kpc.