Tidal debris in the starburst galaxy NGC 3310: A new tidal loop?

NGC 3310 is a well-studied starburst galaxy thought to have merged with a companion galaxy. It has several known tidal features surrounding the main disk, as well as two large H I tails extending to the north and south. In order to explore this system's low surface brightness features, we obtained deep V- and R-band data on the WIYN 0.9 m telescope in Kitt Peak, Arizona. These data reveal a new closed loop consisting of stars emerging from the eastern side of the disk and rejoining in the north. This faint structure seems to be distinct from the rest of the shells surrounding NGC 3310. It appears to consist of tidal debris from a companion galaxy and is the first of its kind to be detected in a starburst galaxy. We discuss implications of this new loop and present V-band photometry on morphologically defined regions of debris in this system.