Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Jan 2012
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2012aas...21934622s&link_type=abstract
American Astronomical Society, AAS Meeting #219, #346.22
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
We follow the development of tidal streams in Via Lactea II, an N-body simulation of the formation of the dark matter halo of a large spiral galaxy. A tidal stream is the remnant of a dwarf satellite galaxy disrupted by differential gravitational forces, depositing a trail of stars within the main galactic halo. Tidal streams link the development of the progenitor satellites to the virialized halo of the main galaxy. This study is more extensive than previous studies of tidal streams in simulated galactic halos because we analyze a high-resolution numerical model. We find trends in the lengths and velocity dispersions (σ) of these streams. As the streams disperse over time, their length increases. Streams originating from the most massive satellites, which interact most strongly through gravity with the main halo, approach full extent 2-3 Gyr after in-fall. Velocity dispersion also increases over time, as the stream is heated up and its stars are virialized into the main halo, with the upper range of velocity dispersions of some streams approaching that of the main halo, 200 km/s. We also discuss further work to obtain improved measures of stream length, as well as the potential of this study, a unique and extensive analysis of a single computer simulation, to provide answers about the development of tidal streams and the evolution of their properties, and to set the path for interpretation of the multitude of data to be collected by planned and future telescopes.
This research was supported by the Science Internship Program (SIP) at UCSC and the National Science Foundation.
Guhathakurta Puraga
Rashkov Valery
Suvarna Anirudh
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