Substructure formation in tidal streams of galactic minor mergers
ABSTRACT In this work, we explore the idea that substructures like stellar clusters could be formed from the tidal stream produced in galactic minor mergers. We use N-body and SPH simulations of satellite galaxies interacting with a larger galaxy. We study the distribution of mass in streams to identify overdensity regions in which a substructure could be formed. We find that without gas, no substructure forms as none of the overdensities shows a definite morphology nor dynamical stability. Including gas we find that several clumps appear and prove to be real long standing physical structures (t ≥ 1 Gyr). We analyze the orbits, ages and masses of these structures, finding their correspondence with the halo subsystems. We conclude that it is possible to form cluster-like structures from the material in tidal streams and find evidence in favour of the presence of dark matter in these systems.
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Instituto de Astronomía
2019
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0185-11012019000200273 |
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| Summary: | ABSTRACT In this work, we explore the idea that substructures like stellar clusters could be formed from the tidal stream produced in galactic minor mergers. We use N-body and SPH simulations of satellite galaxies interacting with a larger galaxy. We study the distribution of mass in streams to identify overdensity regions in which a substructure could be formed. We find that without gas, no substructure forms as none of the overdensities shows a definite morphology nor dynamical stability. Including gas we find that several clumps appear and prove to be real long standing physical structures (t ≥ 1 Gyr). We analyze the orbits, ages and masses of these structures, finding their correspondence with the halo subsystems. We conclude that it is possible to form cluster-like structures from the material in tidal streams and find evidence in favour of the presence of dark matter in these systems. |
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