We have conducted a search of a 9 deg ^ { 2 } region of the CFHTLS around the Milky Way analog M101 ( D \sim 7 Mpc ) , in order to look for previously unknown low surface brightness galaxies .
This search has uncovered 38 new low surface brightness dwarf candidates , and confirmed 11 previously reported galaxies , all with central surface brightness \mu ( g,0 ) > 23mag/arcsec ^ { 2 } , potentially extending the satellite luminosity function for the M101 group by \sim 1.2 magnitudes .
The search was conducted using an algorithm that nearly automates the detection of diffuse dwarf galaxies .
The candidates small size and low surface brightness means that the faintest of these objects would likely be missed by traditional visual or computer detection techniques .
The dwarf galaxy candidates span a range of - 7.1 \geq M _ { g } \geq - 10.2 and half light radii of 118-540 pc at the distance of M101 , and they are well fit by simple Sérsic surface brightness profiles .
These properties are consistent with dwarfs in the Local Group , and to match the Local Group luminosity function \sim 10-20 of these candidates should be satellites of M101 .
Association with a massive host is supported by the lack of detected star formation and the over density of candidates around M101 compared to the field .
The spatial distribution of the dwarf candidates is highly asymmetric , and concentrated to the northeast of M101 and therefore distance measurements will be required to determine if these are genuine members of the M101 group .