Collision tomography: Physical properties of possible progenitors of the Andromeda stellar stream

Abstract

To unveil a progenitor of the Andromeda Giant Stellar Stream, we investigate the interaction between an accreting satellite galaxy and the Andromeda Galaxy using an $N$-body simulation. A comprehensive parameter study with 247 models is performed by varying size and mass distribution of the progenitor dwarf galaxy. We show that the binding energy of the progenitor is the crucial parameter in reproducing the Andromeda Giant Stellar Stream and the shell-like structures surrounding the Andromeda Galaxy. As a result of the simulations, the progenitor must satisfy a simple scaling relation between the core radius, the total mass and the tidal radius. Using this relation, we successfully constrain the physical properties of the progenitors to have mass ranging from $5\times 10^8{M}_{\odot }$ to $5\times 10^9{M}_{\odot }$ and central surface density around $10^3{M}_{\odot }{\mathrm{pc}}^{-2}$. A detailed comparison between our result and the nearby observed galaxies indicates that possible progenitors of the Andromeda Giant Stellar Stream include a dwarf elliptical galaxy, a dwarf irregular galaxy, and a small spiral galaxy.

11 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

References in corpus (11)

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• The Metal-Poor Halo of the Andromeda Spiral Galaxy (M31)
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Cited by in corpus (14)

• The large-scale structure of the halo of the Andromeda galaxy II. Hierarchical structure in the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey
• 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
• Formation of the Andromeda Giant Stream: Asymmetric Structure and Disc Progenitor
• Elemental Abundances in M31: Gradients in the Giant Stellar Stream
• Metallicity distribution of the progenitor of the Giant Stellar Stream in the Andromeda Galaxy
• Statistical properties of substructures around Milky Way-sized haloes and their implications for the formation of stellar streams
• 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
• M31 circum-nuclear region: a molecular survey with the IRAM-interferometer
• 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
• The nature of the Eastern Extent in the outer halo of M31
• One Stream or Two -- Exploring Andromeda's North West Stream
• The origin of the black hole offset in M31