paper

PAndAS' progeny: extending the M31 dwarf galaxy cabal

arXiv:1102.2902 · doi:10.1088/0004-637X/732/2/76

Abstract

We present the discovery of five new dwarf galaxies, Andromeda XXIII-XXVII, located in the outer halo of M31. These galaxies were found in the second year of data from the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS) of the M31/M33 subgroup. This survey now provides an almost complete panoramic view of the M31 halo out to an average projected radius of ~150 kpc. The metal-poor stellar density map for this whole region serves, not only as an illustration of the discovery space for satellite galaxies, but also gives a birds-eye view of the ongoing assembly process of an L* disk galaxy. Four of the new dwarfs appear as well-defined spatial over-densities of stars lying on the expected locus of metal-poor red giant branch stars at the distance of M31. The fifth over-density, And XXVII, is embedded in an extensive stream of such stars and is possibly the remnant of a strong tidal disruption event. All five satellites have metallicities and luminosities typical of dwarf spheroidal galaxies and continue the trend whereby the brighter dwarf spheroidal satellites of M31 generally have much larger half-light radii than their Milky Way counterparts. With an extended sample of M31 satellite galaxies we also revisit the spatial distribution of this population and find that, within the current limits of the PAndAS survey, the surface density of satellites is essentially constant out to 150 kpc. This corresponds to a radial density distribution of satellites varying as 1/r, a result seemingly in conflict with the predictions of cosmological simulations. (Abridged)

Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal, 16 pages, 8 figures

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