相关论文: Asymmetric Warfare: M31 and its Satellites

We investigate the evolution of a population of 100 dark matter satellites orbiting in the gravitational potential of a realistic model of M31. We find that after 10 Gyr, seven subhalos are completely disrupted by the tidal field of the…

M31 has a giant stream of stars extending far to the south and a great deal of other tidal debris in its halo, much of which is thought to be directly associated with the southern stream. We model this structure by means of Bayesian…

The numerous streams in the M31 halo are currently assumed to be due to multiple minor mergers. Here we use the GADGET2 simulation code to test whether M31 could have experienced a major merger in its past history. It results that a…

(Abridged) The spatial distribution of the Galactic satellite system plays an important role in Galactic dynamics and cosmology, where its successful reproduction is a key test of simulations of galaxy halo formation. Here, we examine its…

This paper is the first in a series which studies interactions between M31 and its satellites, including the origin of the giant southern stream. We construct accurate yet simple analytic models for the potential of the M31 galaxy to…

Published maps of red giant stars in the halo region of M31 exhibit a giant stellar stream to the south of this galaxy, as well as a giant "shelf" to the northeast of M31's center. Using these maps, we find that there is a fainter shelf of…

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…

Although the proximity of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) offers an opportunity to understand how mergers affect galaxies, uncertainty remains about M31's most important mergers. Previous studies focused individually on the giant stellar stream…

We propose that the accretion of a dwarf spheroidal galaxy provides a common origin for the giant southern stream and the warp of M31. We run about 40 full N-body simulations with live M31, infalling galaxies with varying masses and density…

We investigate the interaction history of the M31 sub-group of galaxies by comparing surface photometry of its two nearest satellites, M32 and NGC 205, with N-body simulations of satellite destruction. The recent discovery of a giant stream…

We analyse the M31 halo and its substructure within a projected radius of 120 kpc using a combination of Subaru/HSC $\textit{NB515}$ and CFHT/MegaCam $\textit{g}$- \& $\textit{i}$-bands. We succeed in separating M31's halo stars from…

The halo region of M31 exhibits a startling level of stellar inhomogeneities, the most prominent of which is the "giant southern stream". Our previous analysis indicates that this stream, as well as several other observed features, are…

The giant southern stream (GSS) is the most prominent tidal debris feature in M31's stellar halo. The GSS is composed of a relatively metal-rich, high surface-brightness "core" and a lower metallicity, lower surface brightness "envelope."…

We report the discovery of significant stellar substructure in the halo and outer disk of our nearest large galactic neighbour, M31. Our deep panoramic survey with the Isaac Newton Telescope Wide Field Camera currently maps out an area of…

We focus on the evidence of a past minor merger discovered in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy (M31). Previous N-body studies have enjoyed moderate success in producing the observed giant stellar stream (GSS) and stellar shells in M31's…

We examine the nature of the progenitor of the giant stellar stream in M31 using as constraints new radial velocity measurements of stream red giant stars (presented in the companion paper by Guhathakurta et al. 2005, astro-ph/0406145)…

Detailed studies of stellar populations in the halos of the Milky Way and the Andromeda (M 31) galaxies have shown increasing numbers of tidal streams and dwarf galaxies, attesting to a complicated and on-going process of hierarchical…

The recent discovery by Ibata et al. (2013) of a vast thin disk of satellites (VTDS) around M31 offers a new challenge for the understanding of the Local Group properties. This comes in addition to the unexpected proximity of the Magellanic…

Two recent observations regarding the halo of M33 seem to contradict each other. First, the star clusters in the halo of M33 exhibit an age range of 5 to 7 Gyr suggesting a formation scenario that involves the chaotic fragmentation and…

We present a spectroscopic survey of the giant stellar stream found in the halo of the Andromeda galaxy. Taken with the DEIMOS multi-object spectrograph on the Keck2 telescope, these data display a narrow velocity dispersion of 11+/-3 km/s,…