The dynamics of Andromeda's dwarf galaxies and stellar streams

Abstract

As part of the Z-PAndAS Keck II DEIMOS survey of resolved stars in our neighboring galaxy, Andromeda (M31), we have built up a unique data set of measured velocities and chemistries for thousands of stars in the Andromeda stellar halo, particularly probing its rich and complex substructure. In this contribution, we will discuss the structural, dynamical and chemical properties of Andromeda's dwarf spheroidal galaxies, and how there is no observational evidence for a difference in the evolutionary histories of those found on and off M31's vast plane of satellites. We will also discuss a possible extension to the most significant merger event in M31 - the Giant Southern Stream - and how we can use this feature to refine our understanding of M31's mass profile, and its complex evolution.

Proceedings of IAU Symposium 321, "Formation and evolution of galaxy outskirts", Eds. A. Gil de Paz, J. C. Lee & J. H. Knapen, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

References in corpus (5)

• A Vast Thin Plane of Co-rotating Dwarf Galaxies Orbiting the Andromeda Galaxy
• A kinematically selected, metal-poor stellar halo in the outskirts of M31
• A thousand shadows of Andromeda: rotating planes of satellites in the Millennium-II cosmological simulation
• Comparing the observable properties of dwarf galaxies on and off the Andromeda plane
• Comparing M31 and Milky Way Satellites: The Extended Star Formation Histories of Andromeda II and Andromeda XVI

Cited by in corpus (2)

• Probing the intra-group medium of a z = 0.28 galaxy group
• Mass Modeling the Andromeda Dwarf Galaxies: Andromeda VI and Andromeda XXIII