We present results from ID-MAGE (Identifying Dwarfs of MC Analog GalaxiEs), a survey aimed at identifying and characterizing unresolved satellite galaxies around 36~nearby LMC- and SMC-mass hosts (D=4−10~Mpc). We use archival DESI Legacy Survey imaging data and perform an extensive search for dwarf satellites, extending out to a radius of 150~kpc (∼Rvir). We identify 355 candidate satellite galaxies, including 264 new discoveries. Extensive tests with injected galaxies demonstrate that the survey is complete down to MV∼−9.0 (assuming the distance of the host) and μ0,V∼26 mag arcsec−2 (assuming a n=1 S\'ersic profile). We perform consistent photometry, via S\'ersic profile fitting, on all candidates and have initiated a comprehensive follow-up campaign to confirm and characterize candidates. Through a systematic visual inspection campaign, we classify the top candidates as high-likelihood satellites. On average, we find 4.0±1.4 high-likelihood candidate satellites per LMC-mass host and 2.1±0.6 per SMC-mass host which is within the range predicted by cosmological models. We use this sample to establish upper and lower estimates on the satellite luminosity function of LMC/SMC-mass galaxies. ID-MAGE nearly triples the number of low-mass galaxies surveyed for satellites with well-characterized completeness limits, providing a unique dataset to explore small-scale structure and dwarf galaxy evolution around low-mass hosts in diverse environments.
@article{arxiv.2504.00253,
title = {Identifying Dwarfs of MC Analog GalaxiEs (ID-MAGE): The Search for Satellites Around Low-Mass Hosts},
author = {Laura Congreve Hunter and Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil and David J. Sand and Paul Bennet and Donghyeon J. Khim and Denija Crnojević and Amandine Doliva-Dolinsky and Emmanuel Durodola and Catherine Fielder and Rowan Goebel-Bain and Michael G. Jones and Ananthan Karunakaran and Kristine Spekkens and Dennis Zaritsky},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.00253},
year = {2026}
}