The Once and Future Andromeda Stream

Abstract

The interaction between an accreting satellite and the Andromeda galaxy (M31) has been studied analytically and numerically, using a high-resolution N-body simulation with $4\times 10^7$ particles. For the first time, we show the self-gravitating response of the disk, the bulge, and the dark matter halo of M31 to an accreting satellite. We reproduce the Stream and the shells at the East and West side of M31, by following the evolution of the collision 4 Gyr into the future, and show that recently discovered diffuse arcs on the south side of the minor axis are the remnants of a similar collision that occurred 3-4 Gyr earlier than the Stream event. The present day integrity of the M31 disk constrains the satellite mass to be $M\le 5\times 10^9{M}_{\odot }$. The stars that were originally in the center of the satellite are now in the east shell. Therefore, observations in this region might reveal additional clues about the nature of satellite, such as the central core and any metallicity gradient.

5 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in ApJL; see http://www.isc.senshu-u.ac.jp/~thj0613/M31/M31.html for high-resolution figures and movie

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Cited by in corpus (47)

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• Inferring the Andromeda Galaxy's mass from its giant southern stream with Bayesian simulation sampling
• A 2-3 billion year old major merger paradigm for the Andromeda galaxy and its outskirts
• Does M31 result from an ancient major merger?
• The masses and metallicities of stellar haloes reflect galactic merger histories
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• The SPLASH Survey: A Spectroscopic Portrait of Andromeda's Giant Southern Stream
• Was the Andromeda Stream Produced by a Disk Galaxy?
• The Nature and Origin of Substructure in the Outskirts of M31 -- II. Detailed Star Formation Histories
• Structure and Population of the Andromeda Stellar Halo from a Subaru/Suprime-Cam Survey
• Kinematics and simulations of the stellar stream in the halo of the Umbrella Galaxy
• DESI Observations of the Andromeda Galaxy: Revealing the Immigration History of our Nearest Neighbor
• An analytical phase-space model for tidal caustics
• The outer halo globular cluster system of M31 - III. Relationship to the stellar halo
• Threshing in Action - The tidal disruption of a dwarf galaxy by the Hydra I Cluster
• A single-merger scenario for the formation of the giant stream and the warp of M31
• A Comprehensive GALEX Ultraviolet Catalog of Star Clusters in M31 and a Study of the Young Clusters
• A spectroscopic survey of Andromeda's Western Shelf
• The Halos and Environments of Nearby Galaxies (HERON) I: Imaging, Sample Characteristics, and Envelope Diameters
• Relics of structure formation: extra-planar gas and high-velocity clouds around the Andromeda Galaxy
• Elemental Abundances in M31: A Comparative Analysis of Iron and Alpha Element Abundances in the Outer Disk, Giant Stellar Stream, and Inner Halo of M31
• Substructure and Tidal Streams in the Andromeda Galaxy and its Satellites
• Elemental Abundances in M31: First Alpha and Iron Abundance Measurements in M31's Giant Stellar Stream
• The Recent Stellar Archeology of M31 - The Nearest Red Disk Galaxy
• Formation of the Andromeda Giant Stream: Asymmetric Structure and Disc Progenitor
• Elemental Abundances in M31: Gradients in the Giant Stellar Stream
• The kinematic footprints of five stellar streams in Andromeda's halo
• Dynamical friction and scratches of orbiting satellite galaxies on host systems
• Collision tomography: Physical properties of possible progenitors of the Andromeda stellar stream
• Hunting A Wandering Supermassive Black Hole in M31 Halo -- Hermitage of Black Hole
• Chemical Abundances of Planetary Nebulae in the Substructures of M31 -- II. The Extended Sample and A Comparison Study with the Outer-disk Group
• Puzzling Outer-Density Profile of the Dark Matter Halo in the Andromeda Galaxy
• Metallicity and Age of the Stellar Stream Around the Disk Galaxy NGC 5907
• Metallicity distribution of the progenitor of the Giant Stellar Stream in the Andromeda Galaxy
• Kinematics and Metallicity of Red Giant Branch Stars in the Northeast Shelf of M31
• The nature of the progenitor of the M31 North-western stream: globular clusters as milestones of its orbit
• A Detection of Gas Associated with the M 31 Stellar Stream
• Relics of Galaxy Merging: Observational Predictions for a Wandering Massive Black Hole and Accompanying Star Cluster in the Halo of M31
• Ghosts in the Attic: Mapping the Stellar Content of the S0 Galaxy NGC 5102
• The survey of planetary nebulae in Andromeda (M31) VII. Predictions of a major merger simulation model compared with chemodynamical data of the disc and inner halo substructures
• Destruction of the central black hole gas reservoir through head-on galaxy collisions
• The origin of the metallicity distributions of the NE and W stellar shelves in the Andromeda Galaxy
• One Stream or Two -- Exploring Andromeda's North West Stream
• The nature of the Eastern Extent in the outer halo of M31
• The origin of the black hole offset in M31
• Resolving the outer density profile of dark matter halo in Andromeda galaxy
• A statistical analysis of the late-type stellar content in the Andromeda halo