Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics – Galaxy Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2009-10-02
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Galaxy Astrophysics
17 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication in Advances in Astronomy, special issue on "Dwarf-Galaxy Cosmology"
Scientific paper
We use N-body simulations to study the effects of tides on the kinematical structure of satellite galaxies orbiting a Milky Way-like potential. Our work is motivated by observations of dwarf spheroidal galaxies in the Local Group, for which often a distinction is possible between a cold centrally concentrated metal rich and a hot, extended metal poor population. We find that an important attenuation of the initial differences in the distribution of the two stellar components occurs for orbits with small pericentric radii (r_per < 20 kpc). This is mainly due to: i) the loss of the gravitational support provided by the dark matter component after tidal stripping takes place, which forces a re-configuration of the luminous components, and ii) tides preferentially affect the more extended stellar component, leading to a net decrease in its velocity dispersion as a response for the mass loss, which thus shrinks the kinematical gap. We apply these ideas to the Sculptor and Carina dwarf spheroidals. Differences in their orbits might help to explain, under the assumption of similar initial configurations, why in the former a clear kinematical separation between metal poor and metal rich stars is apparent, while in Carina this segregation is significantly more subtle.
Battaglia Giuseppina
Helmi Amina
Sales Laura V.
No associations
LandOfFree
The Effect of Tidal Stripping on Composite Stellar Populations in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with The Effect of Tidal Stripping on Composite Stellar Populations in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and The Effect of Tidal Stripping on Composite Stellar Populations in Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-432027