The dwarf satellites of "giant" Milky Way (MW)-mass galaxies are our primary probes of low-mass dark matter halos. The number and velocities of the satellite galaxies of the MW and M31 initially ...puzzled galaxy formation theorists, but are now reproduced well by many models. Yet, are the MW's and M31's satellites representative? Were galaxy formation models "overfit"? These questions motivate deep searches for satellite galaxies outside the Local Group. We present a deep survey of the "classical" satellites (M ≥ 4 × 105 M ) of the MW-mass galaxy M94 out to a 150 kpc projected distance. We find only two satellites, each with M ∼ 106 M , compared with 6-12 such satellites in the four other MW-mass systems with comparable data (MW, M31, M81, and M101). Using a "standard" prescription for occupying dark matter halos (halos were taken from the fully hydrodynamical EAGLE simulation) with galaxies, we find that such a sparse satellite population occurs in <0.2% of MW-mass systems-a <1% probability among a sample of five (known systems + M94). In order to produce an M94-like system more frequently we make satellite galaxy formation much more stochastic than is currently predicted by dramatically increasing the slope and scatter of the stellar mass-halo mass (SMHM) relation. Surprisingly, the SMHM relation must be altered even for halos masses up to 1011 M -significantly above the mass scales predicted to have increased scatter from current hydrodynamical models. The sparse satellite population of this "lonely giant" thus advocates for an important modification to ideas of how the satellites around MW-mass galaxies form.
Recent work has shown that Milky Way-mass galaxies display an incredible range of stellar halo properties, yet the origin of this diversity is unclear. The nearby galaxy M81-currently interacting ...with M82 and NGC 3077-sheds unique light on this problem. We present a Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam survey of the resolved stellar populations around M81, revealing M81's stellar halo in never-before-seen detail. We resolve the halo to unprecedented V-band equivalent surface brightnesses of 33 mag arcsec −2 and produce the first-ever global stellar mass density map for a Milky Way-mass stellar halo outside of the Local Group. Using the minor axis, we confirm M81's halo as one of the lowest mass and metal poorest known (M 1.16 × 109M , Fe/H −1.2)-indicating a relatively quiet prior accretion history. Yet, our global halo census finds that tidally unbound material from M82 and NGC 3077 provides a substantial infusion of metal-rich material (M 5.4 × 108 M , Fe/H −0.9). We further show that, following the accretion of its massive satellite M82 (and the LMC-like NGC 3077), M81 will host one of the most massive and metal-rich stellar halos in the nearby universe. Thus, the saga of M81: following a passive history, M81's merger with M82 will completely transform its halo from a low-mass, anemic halo rivaling the Milky Way, to a metal-rich behemoth rivaled only by systems such as M31. This dramatic transformation indicates that the observed diversity in stellar halo properties is primarily driven by diversity in the largest mergers these galaxies have experienced.
ABSTRACT
We use magnetohydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-mass haloes from the Auriga project to investigate the properties of surviving and destroyed dwarf galaxies that are accreted by these ...haloes over cosmic time. We show that the combined luminosity function of surviving and destroyed dwarfs at infall is similar in the various Auriga haloes, and is dominated by the destroyed dwarfs. There is, however, a strong dependence on infall time: destroyed dwarfs typically have early infall times of less than 6 Gyr (since the big bang), whereas the majority of dwarfs accreted after 10 Gyr have survived to the present day. Because of their late infall, the surviving satellites have higher metallicities at infall than their destroyed counterparts of similar mass at infall; the difference is even more pronounced for the present-day metallicities of satellites, many of which continue to form stars after infall, in particular for $M_{\rm star}\gt 10^7 \, {\rm M}_\odot$. In agreement with previous work, we find that a small number of relatively massive destroyed dwarf galaxies dominate the mass of stellar haloes. However, there is a significant radial dependence: while 90 per cent of the mass in the inner regions (${\lt}20\,$ kpc) is contributed, on average, by only three massive progenitors, the outer regions (${\gt}100\,$ kpc) typically have ∼8 main progenitors of relatively lower mass. Finally, we show that a few massive progenitors dominate the metallicity distribution of accreted stars, even at the metal-poor end. Contrary to common assumptions in the literature, stars from dwarf galaxies of mass $M_{\rm star}\lt 10^7 \, {\rm M}_\odot$ make up less than 10 per cent of the accreted, metal poor stars (Fe/H ${\lt}-3$) in the inner $50\,$ kpc.
We present the discovery of d1005+68, a new faint dwarf galaxy in the M81 Group, using observations taken with the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam. d1005+68's color-magnitude diagram is consistent with a ...distance of Mpc, establishing group membership. We derive an absolute V-band magnitude, from stellar isochrone fitting, of , with a half-light radius of pc. These place d1005+68 within the radius-luminosity locus of Local Group and M81 satellites and among the faintest confirmed satellites outside the Local Group. Assuming an age of 12 Gyr, d1005+68's red giant branch is best fit by an isochrone of Fe/H = −1.90 0.24. It has a projected separation from nearby M81 satellite BK5N of only 5 kpc. As this is well within BK5N's virial radius, we speculate that d1005+68 may be a satellite of BK5N. If confirmed, this would make d1005+68 one of the first detected satellites-of-a-satellite.
A recent observational study of haloes of nearby Milky Way-like galaxies shows that only half (four out of eight) of the current sample exhibits strong negative metallicity (Fe/H) gradients. This is ...at odds with predictions from hydrodynamical simulations where such gradients are ubiquitous. In this Letter, we use high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations to study the Fe/H distribution of galactic haloes. We find that kinematically selected stellar haloes, including both in situ and accreted particles, have an oblate Fe/H distribution. Spherical Fe/H radial profiles show strong negative gradients within 100 kpc, in agreement with previous numerical results. However, the projected median Fe/H profiles along the galactic disc minor axis, typically obtained in observations, are significantly flatter. The median Fe/H values at a given radius are larger for the spherical profiles than for the minor axis profiles by as much as 0.4 dex within the inner 50 kpc. Similar results are obtained if only the accreted stellar component is considered indicating that the differences between spherical and minor axis profiles are not purely driven by heated disc star particles formed in situ. Our study highlights the importance of performing careful comparisons between models and observations of halo Fe/H distributions.
ABSTRACT We present the discovery of a new dwarf galaxy, Hydra II, found serendipitously within the data from the ongoing Survey of the Magellanic Stellar History conducted with the Dark Energy ...Camera on the Blanco 4 m Telescope. The new satellite is compact ( 11 pc) and faint ( 0.3), but well within the realm of dwarf galaxies. The stellar distribution of Hydra II in the color-magnitude diagram is well-described by a metal-poor ( ) and old (13 Gyr) isochrone and shows a distinct blue horizontal branch, some possible red clump stars, and faint stars that are suggestive of blue stragglers. At a heliocentric distance of 134 10 kpc, Hydra II is located in a region of the Galactic halo that models have suggested may host material from the leading arm of the Magellanic Stream. A comparison with N-body simulations hints that the new dwarf galaxy could be or could have been a satellite of the Magellanic Clouds.
Abstract
It is not yet settled how the combination of secular processes and merging gives rise to the bulges and pseudobulges of galaxies. The nearby (
D
∼ 4.2 Mpc) disk galaxy M94 (NGC 4736) has the ...largest pseudobulge in the local universe, and offers a unique opportunity for investigating the role of merging in the formation of its pseudobulge. We present a first ever look at M94's stellar halo, which we expect to contain a fossil record of M94's past mergers. Using Subaru's Hyper Suprime-Cam, we resolve and identify red giant branch (RGB) stars in M94's halo, finding two distinct populations. After correcting for completeness through artificial star tests, we can measure the radial profile of each RGB population. The metal-rich RGB stars show an unbroken exponential profile to a radius of 30 kpc that is a clear continuation of M94's outer disk. M94's metal-poor stellar halo is detectable over a wider area and clearly separates from its metal-rich disk. By integrating the halo density profile, we infer a total accreted stellar mass of ∼2.8 × 10
8
M
⊙
, with a median metallicity of M/H = −1.4. This indicates that M94's most-massive past merger was with a galaxy similar to, or less massive than, the Small Magellanic Cloud. Few nearby galaxies have had such a low-mass dominant merger; therefore we suggest that M94's pseudobulge was not significantly impacted by merging.
We present an analysis of the radial age gradients for the stellar halos of five Milky Way (MW) mass-sized systems simulated as part of the Aquarius Project. The halos show a diversity of age trends, ...reflecting their different assembly histories. Four of the simulated halos possess clear negative age gradients, ranging from approximately −7 to −19 Myr kpc−1, shallower than those determined by recent observational studies of the Milky Way's stellar halo. However, when restricting the analysis to the accreted component alone, all of the stellar halos exhibit a steeper negative age gradient with values ranging from −8 to −32 Myr kpc−1, closer to those observed in the Galaxy. Two of the accretion-dominated simulated halos show a large concentration of old stars in the center, in agreement with the Ancient Chronographic Sphere reported observationally. The stellar halo that best reproduces the current observed characteristics of the age distributions of the Galaxy is that formed principally by the accretion of small satellite galaxies. Our findings suggest that the hierarchical clustering scenario can reproduce the MW's halo age distribution if the stellar halo was assembled from accretion and the disruption of satellite galaxies with dynamical masses less than ∼109.5 M☉, and a minimal in situ contribution.
Abstract
M64, often called the “Evil Eye” galaxy, is unique among local galaxies. Beyond its dramatic, dusty nucleus, it also hosts an outer gas disk that counter-rotates relative to its stars. The ...mass of this outer disk is comparable to the gas content of the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC), prompting the idea that it was likely accreted in a recent minor merger. Yet, detailed follow-up studies of M64's outer disk have shown no evidence of such an event, leading to other interpretations, such as a “flyby” interaction with the distant diffuse satellite Coma P. We present Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam observations of M64's stellar halo, which resolve its stellar populations and reveal a spectacular radial shell feature, oriented ∼30° relative to the major axis and along the rotation axis of the outer gas disk. The shell is ∼45 kpc southeast of M64, while a similar but more diffuse plume to the northwest extends to >100 kpc. We estimate a stellar mass and metallicity for the southern shell of
M
⋆
= 1.80 ± 0.54 × 10
8
M
⊙
and M/H = −1.0, respectively, and a similar mass of 1.42 ± 0.71 × 10
8
M
⊙
for the northern plume. Taking into account the accreted material in M64's inner disk, we estimate a total stellar mass for the progenitor satellite of
M
⋆,prog
≃ 5 × 10
8
M
⊙
. These results suggest that M64 is in the final stages of a minor merger with a gas-rich satellite strikingly similar to the SMC, in which M64's accreted counter-rotating gas originated, and which is responsible for the formation of its dusty inner star-forming disk.
The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an ongoing Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ...ultraviolet through near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample, representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within the current survey area (390 arcmin super(2)). This work presents results derived from the first ~25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will include ~2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.
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