Distribution Of Satellite Galaxies Research Articles

Erratum to: Globular Cluster as Indicators of Galactic Evolution

We have studied the system of globular clusters (GCs) that formed in other galaxies and eventually accreted onto the Milky Way. Thus, the samples of GCs belonging to different tidal streams, obtained on the basis of the latest data from the Gaia observatory, were taken from the literature. We measured the anisotropy of the distribution of these GCs using the gyration tensor and found that the distribution of GCs in the streams is isotropic. Nevertheless, it can be seen that some of the accreted GCs included into existing samples actually belong to the disk of the Galaxy. To clarify the origin of GCs, we investigated the ``age--metallicity'' relation. This dependence demonstrates bimodality and its two different branches clearly show the difference between the clusters formed in the streams and in the disk of the Galaxy. Furthermore, we have studied the influence of the large--scale environment of the Galaxy (i.e., the Local Supercluster) on the distribution of satellite galaxies and Galactic GCs. The satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are known to form an anisotropic planar structure, so we included them in our analysis too. An inspection has shown that the plane of the satellite galaxies is perpendicular both to the disk of the Galaxy and the supergalactic plane. For GCs more distant than 100~Kpc, a similar picture is observed.

Globular Cluster as Indicators of Galactic Evolution

We have studied the system of globular clusters (GCs) that formed in other galaxies and eventually accreted onto the Milky Way. Thus, the samples of GCs belonging to different tidal streams, obtained on the basis of the latest data from the GAIA observatory, were taken from the literature. We measured the anisotropy of the distribution of these GCs using the tensor of inertia and found that the distribution of GCs in the streams is isotropic. Nevertheless, it can be seen that some of the accreted GCs included into existing samples actually belong to the disk of the Galaxy. To clarify the origin of GCs, we investigated “the age–metallicity” relation. This dependence appeared to be bimodal and its two different branches clearly show the difference between the clusters formed in the streams and in the disk of the Galaxy. Furthermore, we have studied the influence of the large-scale environment of the Galaxy (i.e., the Local Supercluster) on the distribution of satellite galaxies and Galactic GCs. The satellite galaxies of the Milky Way are known to form an anisotropic planar structure, so we included them in our analysis too. An inspection has shown that the plane of the satellite galaxies is perpendicular both to the disk of the Galaxy and the supergalactic plane. For GCs more distant than 100 Kpc, a similar picture is observed.

Effect of the Galactic Disk and Satellite Galaxies on the Spatial Distribution of Globular Clusters

The distribution anisotropy in systems of globular clusters (GCs) in satellite galaxies of the Milky Way is considered using the inertia tensor. The statistical significance of the results is estimated by repeating this analysis for random catalogs. This method reproduces a known planar structure in the distribution of satellite galaxies; however, the significance of this structure is slightly lower than that for other methods used in the literature. For the GCs at distances 2 < R < 10 kpc, the structure is coplanar with the galactic plane. At large distances, the structure orientation is close to the orientations of the satellite galaxies, i.e., is perpendicular to the Galaxy plane. The probability of stochastic realization of such distribution is 1.7%. The GC distribution anisotropy is also measured without the GCs belonging to the Sagittarius tidal stream. Measurements show that the effect of the stream on the GC perturbation is weak.

Colour and stellar population gradients of galaxies in poor groups of galaxies

AbstractWe studied the color distribution of satellite galaxies in three groups of galaxies and found that nearly a half of galaxies show statistically significant radial color gradients, which are indicative of changing stellar ages and metallicities. We found that the disk-dominated satellite galaxies with positive color and age gradients (i.e., evolving in outside-in fashion) are residing, predominantly, in the inner, dense group regions, within the characteristic radius R200, while those galaxies, residing in the outer group in-fall region, show typically zero or negative gradients.

Galaxy evolution in groups and clusters: star formation rates, red sequence fractions and the persistent bimodality

Using galaxy group/cluster catalogs created from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7, we examine in detail the specific star formation rate (SSFR) distribution of satellite galaxies and its dependence on stellar mass, host halo mass, and halo-centric radius. All galaxies, regardless of central-satellite designation, exhibit a similar bimodal SSFR distribution, with a strong break at SSFR ~ 10^-11 yr^-1 and the same high SSFR peak; in no regime is there ever an excess of galaxies in the `green valley'. Satellite galaxies are simply more likely to lie on the quenched (`red sequence') side of the SSFR distribution. Furthermore, the satellite quenched fraction excess above the field galaxy value is nearly independent of galaxy stellar mass. An enhanced quenched fraction for satellites persists in groups with halo masses down to 3 x 10^11 Msol and increases strongly with halo mass and toward halo center. We find no detectable quenching enhancement for galaxies beyond ~2R_vir around massive clusters once these galaxies have been decomposed into centrals and satellites. These trends imply that (1) galaxies experience no significant environmental effects until they cross within ~R_vir of a more massive host halo, (2) after this, star formation in active satellites continues to evolve in the same manner as active central galaxies for several Gyrs, and (3) once begun, satellite star formation quenching occurs rapidly. These results place strong constraints on satellite-specific quenching mechanisms, as we will discuss further in companion papers.

The alignment between satellites and central galaxies: theory versus observations

Recent studies have shown that the distribution of satellite galaxies is preferentially aligned with the major axis of their central galaxy. The strength of this alignment has been found to depend strongly on the colours of the satellite and central galaxies, and only weakly on the mass of the halo in which the galaxies reside. In this paper we study whether these alignment signals, and their dependence on galaxy and halo properties, can be reproduced in a hierarchical structure formation model of a ΛCDM concordance cosmology. To that extent we use a large N-body simulation which we populate with galaxies following a semi-analytical model for galaxy formation. We find that if the orientation of the central galaxy is perfectly aligned with that of its dark matter halo, then the predicted central–satellite alignment signal is much stronger than observed. If, however, the minor axis of a central galaxy is perfectly aligned with the angular momentum vector of its dark matter halo, we can accurately reproduce the observed alignment strength as a function of halo mass and galaxy colour. Although this suggests that the orientation of central galaxies is governed by the angular momentum of their dark matter haloes, we emphasize that any other scenario in which the minor axes of central galaxy and halo are misaligned by ∼40° (on average) will match the data equally well. Finally, we show that dependence of the alignment strength on the colour of the central galaxy is most likely an artefact due to interlopers in the group catalogue. The dependence on the colour of the satellite galaxies, on the other hand, is real and owes to the fact that red satellites are associated with subhaloes that were more massive at their time of accretion.

The alignment between the distribution of satellites and the orientation of their central galaxy

We use galaxy groups selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to examine the alignment between the orientation of the central galaxy (defined as the brightest group member) and the distribution of satellite galaxies. By construction, we therefore only address the alignment on scales smaller than the halo virial radius. We find a highly significant alignment of satellites with the major axis of their central galaxy. This is in qualitative agreement with the recent study of Brainerd (2005), but inconsistent with several previous studies who detected a preferential minor axis alignment. The alignment strength in our sample is strongest between red central galaxies and red satellites. On the contrary, the satellite distribution in systems with a blue central galaxy is consistent with isotropic. We also find that the alignment strength is stronger in more massive haloes and at smaller projected radii from the central galaxy. In addition, there is a weak indication that fainter (relative to the central galaxy) satellites are more strongly aligned. We present a detailed comparison with previous studies, and discuss the implications of our findings for galaxy formation.

The distribution of satellite galaxies: the great pancake

The 11 known satellite galaxies within 250 kpc of the Milky Way lie close to a great circle on the sky. We use high resolution N-body simulations of galactic dark matter halos to test if this remarkable property can be understood within the context of the cold dark matter cosmology. We construct halo merger trees from the simulations and use a semianalytic model to follow the formation of satellite galaxies. We find that in all 6 of our simulations, the 11 brightest satellites are indeed distributed along thin, disk-like structures analogous to that traced by the Milky Way's satellites. This is in sharp contrast to the overall distributions of dark matter in the halo and of subhalos within it which, although triaxial, are not highly aspherical. We find that the spatial distribution of satellites is significantly different from that of the most massive subhalos but is similar to that of the subset of subhalos that had the most massive progenitors at earlier times. The elongated disk-like structure delineated by the satellites has its long axis aligned with the major axis of the dark matter halo. We interpret our results as reflecting the preferential infall of satellites along the spines of a few filaments of the cosmic web.

The distribution of satellite galaxies

The distribution of satellite galaxies