Lopsided Satellite Distributions around Isolated Host Galaxies in a ΛCDM Universe

Abstract

A recent observational study found that the projected spatial distributions of the satellites of bright, isolated host galaxies tend to be lopsided with respect to the locations of the hosts. Here, we examine the spatial distributions of the satellites of a large number of bright, isolated host galaxies that were obtained from mock redshift surveys of a Λ-cold dark matter (ΛCDM) simulation. Host galaxies and their satellites were identified using selection criteria that are identical to those used in the observational study, allowing for a direct comparison of the results for the simulated and observed systems. To characterize the spatial distribution of the satellites, we adopt two statistics: (1) the pairwise clustering of the satellites and (2) the mean resultant length. In agreement with the observational study, we find a strong tendency for satellites in the simulation to be located on the same side of their host, and the signal is most pronounced for the satellites of blue hosts. These lopsided satellite distributions are not solely attributable to incompleteness of the observed satellite catalog or the presence of objects that have been falsely identified as satellites. In addition, satellites that joined their hosts’ halos in the distant past (≳8 Gyr) show a pronounced lopsidedness in their spatial distributions and, therefore, the lopsidedness is not solely attributable to the late-time accretion of satellites.