The virial mass distribution of ultradiffuse galaxies in clusters and groups

Abstract

Abstract We use the observed abundances of ultradiffuse galaxies (UDGs) in clusters and groups and Λ cold dark matter subhalo mass functions to put constraints on the distribution of present-day halo masses of satellite UDGs. If all of the most massive subhaloes in the cluster host a UDG, UDGs occupy all subhaloes with log Msub/M⊙ ≳ 11. For a model in which the efficiency of UDG formation is higher around some characteristic halo mass, higher fractions of massive UDGs require larger spreads in the UDG mass distribution. In a cluster with a virial mass of 1015 M⊙, the 90 per cent upper limit for the fraction of UDGs with log Msub/M⊙ > 12 is 7 per cent, occupying 70 per cent of all cluster subhaloes above the same mass. To reproduce the observed abundances, however, the mass distribution of satellite UDGs has to be broad, with > 30 per cent having log Msub/M⊙ < 10.9. This strongly supports that UDGs are part of a continuous distribution in which a majority are hosted by low-mass haloes. The abundance of satellite UDGs may fall short of the linear relation with the cluster/group mass Mhost in low-mass hosts, log Mhost/M⊙ ∼ 12. Characterizing these deviations – or the lack thereof – will allow for stringent constraints on the UDG virial mass distribution.