Reconstructing a Recent Collision in Andromeda

Details Reconstructing a Recent Collision in Andromeda Reconstructing a Recent Collision in Andromeda

Dec 2006

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2006aas...20917704f&link_type=abstract

2007 AAS/AAPT Joint Meeting, American Astronomical Society Meeting 209, #177.04; Bulletin of the American Astronomical Society,

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The nearby Andromeda Galaxy (M31) shows multiple signs of recent disturbances, including a star-forming ring, a giant stellar stream to the south, and multiple shell-like structures and other density and kinematic irregularities seen in maps of red giant counts. We use N-body simulations to show that many of these features could be due to a single event: the collision between M31 and a large satellite galaxy on a nearly radial orbit. In our simulations, the southern stream is merely the tail of a giant structure which wraps around the center of M31, and is formed from the debris of the satellite. The structure has a distinctive spatial and kinematic signature, which is consistent with features seen in multiple types of observations. These include a triangular signature in Rproj Vlos space in several regions identifiable as radial shells of stars; at least two and probably three such shells are visible in current data. The collision also leaves its imprint on the face of M31. Our simulations show that the sharp NE edge of the southern stream and its gradual falloff to the SW can be reproduced with an initially rotating satellite, with its angular momentum vector pointed toward M31's center at its closest approach. We use the surface density of the radial shells and southern stream to estimate the initial mass of the satellite as 2 × 109 solar masses. This would make it one of the most massive galaxies in the Local Group, before its violent destruction a mere 0.7 Gyr ago.

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