Related papers: Applying scale-free mass estimators to the Local G…
Space observatories like the Hubble Space Telescope and Gaia are providing unprecedented 6D phase space information of satellite galaxies. Such measurements can shed light on the structure and assembly history of the Local Group, but…
We revisit the estimation of the combined mass of the Milky Way and Andromeda (M31), which dominate the mass of the Local Group. We make use of an ensemble of 30,190 halo pairs from the Small MultiDark simulation, assuming a $\Lambda$CDM…
We use Density Estimation Likelihood-Free Inference, $\Lambda$ Cold Dark Matter simulations of $\sim 2M$ galaxy pairs, and data from Gaia and the Hubble Space Telescope to infer the sum of the masses of the Milky Way and Andromeda (M31)…
The total mass of a galaxy group, such as the Milky Way (MW) and the Andromeda Galaxy (M 31), is typically determined from the kinematics of satellites within their virial zones. Bahcall and Tremaine (1981) proposed the $v^2r$ estimator as…
The dynamics of the Local Group (LG), especially the contribution of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) galaxies, is sensitive to the presence of dark energy. This work analyzes the evolution of the LG by considering it as a two-body…
We present new mass estimates for Andromeda (M31) using the orbital angular momenta of four satellite galaxies (M33, NGC 185, NGC 147, IC 10) derived from existing proper motions, distances, and line-of-sight velocities. We infer two masses…
We have explored the hypothesis that the total mass-ratio of the two main galaxies of the Local Group: Andromeda Galaxy(M31) and the Milky Way (MW) can be constrained measuring the tidal force induced by the surrounding mass distribution,…
We use semi-analytic galaxy catalogs based on two high-resolution cosmological $N$-body simulations, Millennium-WMAP7 and Millennium-II, to investigate the formation of the Local Group (LG) analogs. Unlike previous studies, we use the…
High precision proper motion (PM) measurements are available for approximately 20% of all known dwarf satellite galaxies of the Milky Way (MW). Here we extend the Bayesian framework of Patel et al. (2017b) to include all MW satellites with…
We present a family of robust tracer mass estimators to compute the enclosed mass of galaxy haloes from samples of discrete positional and kinematical data of tracers, such as halo stars, globular clusters and dwarf satellites. The data may…
The dwarf satellites of `giant' Milky Way (MW)-mass galaxies are our primary probes of low-mass dark matter halos. The number and velocities of the satellite galaxies of the MW and M31 initially puzzled galaxy formation theorists, but are…
We use a large sample of isolated dark matter halo pairs drawn from cosmological N-body simulations to identify candidate systems whose kinematics match that of the Local Group of Galaxies (LG). We find, in agreement with the "timing…
The total mass of the Local Group (LG) and the masses of its primary constituents, the Milky Way and M31, are important anchors for several cosmological questions. In recent years, independent measurements have consistently yielded halo…
We examine the prevalence, longevity, and causes of planes of satellite dwarf galaxies, as observed in the Local Group. We use 14 Milky Way/Andromeda-(MW/M31) mass host galaxies from the FIRE-2 simulations. We select the 14 most massive…
In this work an ensemble of simulated Local Group analogues is used to constrain the properties of the mass assembly history of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) galaxies. These objects have been obtained using the constrained…
We introduce a new methodology to robustly determine the mass profile, as well as the overall distribution, of Local Group satellite galaxies. Specifically we employ a statistical multilevel modelling technique, Bayesian hierarchical…
Our goal is to estimate the mass of the Local Group (LG) and the individual masses of its primary galaxies, the M31 and the Milky Way (MW). We do this by means of a supervised machine learning algorithm, the gradient boosted decision trees…
Despite the Milky Way's proximity to us, our knowledge of its dark matter halo is fairly limited, and there is still considerable uncertainty in its halo mass. Many past techniques have been limited by assumptions such as the Galaxy being…
We introduce the tracer mass estimator. This is a new and simple way to estimate the enclosed mass from the projected positions and line of sight velocities of a tracer population (such as globular clusters, halo stars and planetary…
The satellite galaxies of the Local Group provide us with an important probe of galaxy formation, evolution, and cosmology. The two large spirals that dominate this group -- the Milky Way and Andromeda -- are each host to tens of…