Related papers: What determines satellite galaxy disruption?
If the favored hierarchical cosmological model is correct, then the Milky Way system should have accreted ~100-200 luminous satellite galaxies in the past \~12 Gyr. We model this process using a hybrid semi-analytic plus N-body approach…
In the hierarchical formation model, galaxy clusters grow by accretion of smaller groups or isolated galaxies. During the infall into the centre of a cluster, the properties of accreted galaxies change. In particular, both observations and…
The kinematics of satellite galaxies moving in a dark matter halo are a direct probe of the underlying gravitational potential. Thus, the phase-space distributions of satellites represent a powerful tool to determine the galaxy-halo…
We provide new constraints on the connection between galaxies in the local universe, identified by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), and dark matter halos and their constituent substructures in the $\Lambda$CDM model using WMAP7…
We study the amount and distribution of dark matter substructures within dark matter haloes, using a large set of high-resolution simulations ranging from group size to cluster size haloes, and carried our within a cosmological model…
We describe our recent attempts to model substructure in dark matter halos down to very small masses, using a semi-analytic model of halo formation. The results suggest that numerical simulations of halo formation may still be missing…
We show that the mass of a dark matter halo can be inferred from the dynamical status of its satellite galaxies. Using 9 dark-matter simulations of halos like the Milky Way (MW), we find that the present-day substructures in each halo…
The planar arrangement of nearly half the satellite galaxies of M31 has been a source of mystery and speculation since it was discovered. With a growing number of other host galaxies showing these satellite galaxy planes, their stability…
We present a detailed study of the real and integrals-of-motion space distributions of a satellite obtained from a self-consistent high-resolution simulation of a galaxy cluster and re-simulated using various analytical halo potentials. We…
Stellar haloes form through the disruption of satellite galaxies over time, making them a promising observable for constraining galaxy merger histories. We use a dynamical decomposition technique to isolate the stellar haloes of Milky…
We study the survival of substructures (clumps) within larger self-gravitating dark matter halos. Building on scaling relations obtained from N-body calculations of violent relaxation, we argue that the tidal field of galaxies and halos can…
Satellite galaxies in rich clusters are subject to numerous physical processes that can significantly influence their evolution. However, the typical L* satellite galaxy resides in much lower mass galaxy groups, where the processes capable…
We use N-body cosmological simulations and empirical galaxy models to study the merger history of dwarf-mass galaxies (with M_halo~10^10 M_Sun). Our input galaxy models describe the stellar mass-halo mass relation, and the galaxy occupation…
Observations have shown that the spatial distribution of satellite galaxies is not random, but aligned with the major axes of central galaxies. This alignment is dependent on galaxy properties, such that red satellites are more strongly…
A decade ago cosmological simulations of increasingly higher resolution were used to demonstrate that virialized regions of Cold Dark Matter (CDM) halos are filled with a multitude of dense, gravitationally-bound clumps. These dark matter…
This paper discusses physical and numerical disruption processes acting on subhaloes in galaxy haloes and in galaxy cluster haloes, and compare the effects of these processes on the subhalo abundance within both types of haloes. N-body…
We investigate the disruption of group and cluster satellite galaxies with total mass (dark matter plus baryons) above 10^10 M_sun in the Hydrangea simulations, a suite of 24 high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical zoom-in simulations…
We develop a model for the growth of dark matter halos and use it to study their evolved density profiles. In this model, halos are spherical and form by quiescent accretion of matter in clumps, called satellites. The halo mass as a…
We investigate the radial distribution of galaxies within their host dark matter halos by modeling their small-scale clustering, as measured in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. Specifically, we model the Jiang et al. (2011) measurements of the…
Minor mergers of galaxies are expected to be common in a hierarchical cosmology such as $\Lambda$CDM and have the potential to significantly affect galactic structure. In this paper we dissect the case-by-case outcome from a set of…