Orbits of Massive Satellite Galaxies: I. A Close Look at the Large Magellanic Cloud and a New Orbital History for M33

Abstract

The Milky Way (MW) and M31 both harbor massive satellite galaxies, the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and M33, which may comprise up to 10 per cent of their host's total mass. Massive satellites can change the orbital barycentre of the host-satellite system by tens of kiloparsecs and are cosmologically expected to harbor dwarf satellite galaxies of their own. Assessing the impact of these effects depends crucially on the orbital histories of the LMC and M33. Here, we revisit the dynamics of the MW-LMC system and present the first detailed analysis of the M31-M33 system utilizing high precision proper motions and statistics from the dark matter-only Illustris cosmological simulation. With the latest Hubble Space Telescope proper motion measurements of M31, we reliably constrain M33's interaction history with its host. In particular, like the LMC, M33 is either on its first passage (t_{inf} < 2 Gyr ago) or if M31 is massive (>=2x10^12 Msun), it is on a long period orbit of about 6 Gyr. Cosmological analogs of the LMC and M33 identified in Illustris support this picture and provide further insight about their host masses. We conclude that, cosmologically, massive satellites like the LMC and M33 are likely completing their first orbits about their hosts. We also find that the orbital energies of such analogs prefer a MW halo mass ~1.5x10^12 Msun and an M31 halo mass >=1.5x10^12 Msun. Despite conventional wisdom, we conclude it is highly improbable that M33 made a close (< 100 kpc) approach to M31 recently ( t_{peri} < 3 Gyr ago). Such orbits are rare (< 1 per cent) within the 4$\sigma$ error space allowed by observations. This conclusion cannot be explained by perturbative effects through four body encounters between the MW, M31, M33, and the LMC. This surprising result implies that we must search for a new explanation for M33's strongly warped gas and stellar discs.

28 pages, 17 figures, 8 tables, accepted to MNRAS Oct 7 2016

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Cited by in corpus (54)

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• The SAGA Survey. III. A Census of 101 Satellite Systems around Milky Way-mass Galaxies
• Magellanic satellites in $\Lambda$CDM cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the Local Group
• The Clustering of Orbital Poles Induced by the LMC: Hints for the Origin of Planes of Satellites
• The infall of dwarf satellite galaxies are influenced by their host's massive accretions
• The VMC survey -- XLI. Stellar proper motions within the Small Magellanic Cloud
• A comparative study of satellite galaxies in Milky Way-like galaxies from HSC, DECaLS and SDSS
• The VMC Survey -- XL. Three-dimensional structure of the Small Magellanic Cloud as derived from red clump stars
• The global stability of M33 in MOND
• Discovery of the Magellanic Stellar Stream Out to 100 Kiloparsecs
• Implications of the Milky Way travel velocity for dynamical mass estimates of the Local Group
• Linking globular cluster formation at low and high redshift through the age-metallicity relation in E-MOSAICS
• Structure, Kinematics, and Observability of the Large Magellanic Cloud's Dynamical Friction Wake in Cold vs. Fuzzy Dark Matter
• The TREX Survey: Kinematical Complexity Throughout M33's Stellar Disk and Evidence for a Stellar Halo
• Ca II Triplet Spectroscopy of Small Magellanic Cloud Red Giants. V. Abundances and Velocities for 12 Massive Clusters
• Evidence for a Massive Andromeda Galaxy Using Satellite Galaxy Proper Motions
• Constraints on the star formation histories of galaxies in the Local Cosmological Volume
• Comparing the Properties of GMCs in M33 from Simulations and Observations
• The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury: Triangulum Extended Region (PHATTER). IV. Star Cluster Catalog
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• Spectroscopy of the Young Stellar Association Price-Whelan 1: Origin in the Magellanic Leading Arm and Constraints on the Milky Way Hot Halo
• The Triangulum Extended (TREX) Survey: The Stellar Disk Dynamics of M33 as a Function of Stellar Age
• Scientific Objectives of the Hot Universe Baryon Surveyor (HUBS) Mission
• The M31/M33 tidal interaction: A hydrodynamic simulation of the extended gas distribution
• Comparing hypervelocity star populations from the Large Magellanic Cloud and the Milky Way
• The Milky Way, Coming into Focus: Precision Astrometry Probes its Evolution, and its Dark Matter
• Ca II Triplet Spectroscopy of Small Magellanic Cloud Red Giants. VI. Analysis of chemical properties of the Main Body
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• The Tucana dwarf spheroidal: a distant backsplash galaxy of M31?
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• Apocalypse When? No Certainty of a Milky Way -- Andromeda Collision
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• The VMC survey -- XLV. Proper motion of the outer LMC and the impact of the SMC
• No globular cluster progenitors in Milky Way satellite galaxies
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• Star formation drivers across the M33 disk
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• Revisiting the Proper Motions of M31 and M33 Using Massive Supergiant Stars with Gaia DR3
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• Structural parameters and possible association of the Ultra-Faint Dwarfs Pegasus III and Pisces II from deep Hubble Space Telescope photometry
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