A tidal origin for the Magellanic Stream

Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy

Scientific paper

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Astronomical Models, Hydrogen Clouds, Magellanic Clouds, Milky Way Galaxy, Velocity Distribution, Cosmology, Mass Ratios, Neutral Particles, Spatial Distribution, Streams, Three Body Problem, Tides

Scientific paper

Models of the Magellanic Stream are constructed on the basis of the hypothesis that the Stream was produced by tidal interaction between the Milky Way and a Magellanic galaxy. The calculations are performed by representing the Magellanic galaxy as a point mass surrounded by test particles, representing the Milky Way as a point mass, and solving what is essentially a restricted three-body problem for each particle. Various values of the orbital parameters of the Magellanic galaxy about the Milky Way are tried in order to obtain a fit to positional and velocity data for the Stream, and conditions which result in an acceptable model are summarized. One model giving a good approximation to the observed spatial and velocity distributions in the Stream is presented in which the galaxy mass ratio is 20, the orbital eccentricity of the Magellanic galaxy is 0.6, the head of the Stream is 8.7 kpc from the center of the Milky Way, the perigalacticon distance is 23.1 kpc, and the time since perigalactic passage is 230 million years. This model is used to derive velocities at points along the Stream that compare well with 21-cm observations.

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