Andromeda II as a merger remnant

Abstract

Abstract Using N-body simulations, we study the origin of prolate rotation observed in the kinematic data for Andromeda II (And II), a dwarf spheroidal satellite of M31. We propose an evolutionary model for the origin of And II involving a merger between two discy dwarf galaxies with different disc scalelengths. The dwarfs are placed on a radial orbit towards each other with their angular momenta inclined by 90 deg. The merger remnant forms a stable triaxial galaxy with rotation only around the longest axis whose origin is naturally explained as due to the symmetry of the initial configuration and the conservation of angular momentum components along the direction of the merger. The stars originating from the two dwarfs show significantly different surface density profiles while having very similar kinematics as required by the data. We also study an alternative scenario for the formation of And II, via tidal stirring of a discy dwarf. While intrinsic rotation occurs naturally in this model as a remnant of the initial rotation of the disc, it is mostly around the shortest axis of the stellar component. We conclude that the velocity distribution in And II is much more naturally explained by a scenario involving a past merger.