Related papers: The Collision Between The Milky Way And Andromeda
We present numerical simulations modeling the orbital evolution of very wide binaries, pairs of stars separated by over ~1000 AU. Due to perturbations from other passing stars and the Milky Way's tide, the orbits of very wide binary stars…
We use new measurements of the M31 proper motion to examine the Milky Way (MW) - M31 orbit and angular momentum. For Local Group (LG) mass consistent with measured values, and assuming the system evolves in isolation, we show a wide range…
The Milky Way and the Local Sheet form a peculiar galaxy system in terms of the unusually low velocity dispersion in our neighbourhood and the seemingly high mass of the Milky Way for such an environment. Using the TNG300 simulation we…
Tidal streams from existing and destroyed satellite galaxies populate the outer regions of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). This inhomogeneous debris can be studied without many of the obstacles that plague Milky Way research. We review the…
The Local Group is a unique environment in which to study the astrophysics of galaxy formation. The proximity of the Milky Way and M31 enhances the frequency of interactions of the low-mass halo population with more massive dark matter…
We perform numerical simulations of a stellar galactic disk with initial conditions chosen to represent an unrelaxed population which might have been left following a merger. Stars are unevenly distributed in radial action angle, though the…
Upcoming next generation galactic surveys, such as GAIA and HERMES, will deliver unprecedented detail about the structure and make-up of our Galaxy, the Milky Way, and promise to radically improve our understanding of it. However, to…
A popular formation scenario for giant elliptical galaxies proposes that they might have formed from binary mergers of disk galaxies. Difficulties with the scenario that emerged from earlier studies included providing the necessary stellar…
The majority of the Milky Way's stellar halo consists of debris from our Galaxy's last major merger, the Gaia-Sausage-Enceladus (GSE). In the past few years, stars from GSE have been kinematically and chemically studied in the inner $30$…
Aims. We carry out the self-consistent dynamic evolution of the orbital structure of Milky Way globular clusters. This allows us to estimate possible and probable close passages and even collisions of the clusters with each other. Methods.…
We quantify the shape and overdensity of the galaxy distribution in the `Local Sheet' within a sphere of $R=8$ Mpc, and compare these properties with the expectations of the $\Lambda$CDM model. We measure ellipsoidal axis ratios of…
The modern merger hypothesis offers a method of forming a new elliptical galaxy through merging two equal-mass, gas-rich disk galaxies fuelling a nuclear starburst followed by efficient quenching and dynamical stabilization. A key…
As the missing complement to existing studies of shell galaxies, we carried out a set of self-consistent N-body simulations of a minor merger forming a stellar shell system within a giant elliptical galaxy. We discuss the effect of a…
[Abridged] In this first paper of this series, we present a new approach for studying the chemo-dynamical evolution in disk galaxies, which consists of fusing disk chemical evolution models with compatible numerical simulations of galactic…
Globular clusters (GCs), the oldest stellar systems observed in the Milky Way, have for long been considered single stellar populations. As such, they provided an ideal laboratory to understand stellar dynamics and primordial star formation…
Stellar populations and their distribution differ widely across the Galaxy, which is likely to affect planet demographics. Our local neighbourhood is dominated by young, metal-rich stars in the galactic thin disc, while the stellar halo and…
We study the possibility that the Milky Way's cool stellar disc includes mergers with ancient stars. Galaxies are understood to form in a hierarchical manner, where smaller (proto-)galaxies merge into larger ones. Stars in galaxies, like…
The ongoing merger of the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy with the Milky Way is believed to strongly affect the dynamics of the Milky Way's disc. We present a suite of 13 $N$-body simulations, with 500 million to 1 billion particles,…
Massive satellite accretions onto early galactic disks can lead to the deposition of dark matter in disk-like configurations that co-rotate with the galaxy. This phenomenon has potentially dramatic consequences for dark matter detection…
We propose a new model for the origin and evolution of the Local Group of Galaxies (LGG) which naturally explains the formation of the Magellanic Clouds and their large orbital angular momenta around the Galaxy. The basic idea is that an…