Complexity in small‐scale dwarf spheroidal galaxies – Ludwig Biermann Award Lecture 2008

Our knowledge about the dynamics, the chemical abundances and the evolutionary histories of the more luminous dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies is constantly growing. However, very little is known about the enrichment of the ultra‐faint systems recently discovered in large numbers in large sky surveys. Current low‐resolution spectroscopy and photometric data indicate that these galaxies are highly dark matter dominated and predominantly metal poor. On the other hand, recent high‐resolution abundance analyses indicate that some dwarf galaxies experienced highly inhomogeneous chemical enrichment, where star formation proceeds locally on small scales. In this article, I will review the kinematic and chemical abundance information of the Milky Way satellite dSphs that is presently available from low‐ and high resolution spectroscopy. Moreover, some of the most peculiar element and inhomogeneous enrichment patterns will be discussed and related to the question of to what extent the faintest dSph candidates could have contributed to the Galactic halo, compared to more luminous systems (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

The collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda

We use an N -body/hydrodynamic simulation to forecast the future encounter between the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies, given present observational constraints on their relative distance, relative velocity, and masses. Allowing for a comparable amount of diffuse mass to fill the volume of the Local Group, we find that the two galaxies are likely to collide in a few billion years – within the Sun's lifetime. During the interaction, there is a chance that the Sun will be pulled away from its present orbital radius and reside in an extended tidal tail. The likelihood for this outcome increases as the merger progresses, and there is a remote possibility that our Sun will be more tightly bound to Andromeda than to the Milky Way before the final merger. Eventually, after the merger has completed, the Sun is most likely to be scattered to the outer halo and reside at much larger radii (>30 kpc). The density profiles of the stars, gas and dark matter in the merger product resemble those of elliptical galaxies. Our Local Group model therefore provides a prototype progenitor of late-forming elliptical galaxies.     

The mass of the Andromeda galaxy

This paper argues that the Milky Way galaxy is probably the largest member of the Local Group. The evidence comes from estimates of the total mass of the Andromeda galaxy (M31) derived from the three-dimensional positions and radial velocities of its satellite galaxies, as well as the projected positions and radial velocities of its distant globular clusters and planetary nebulae. The available data set comprises 10 satellite galaxies, 17 distant globular clusters and nine halo planetary nebulae with radial velocities. We find that the halo of Andromeda has a mass of together with a scalelength of 90 kpc and a predominantly isotropic velocity distribution. For comparison, our earlier estimate for the Milky Way halo is Although the error bars are admittedly large, this suggests that the total mass of M31 is probably less than that of the Milky Way . We verify the robustness of our results to changes in the modelling assumptions and to errors caused by the small size and incompleteness of the data set.
Our surprising claim can be checked in several ways in the near future. The numbers of satellite galaxies, planetary nebulae and globular clusters with radial velocities can be increased by ground-based spectroscopy, while the proper motions of the companion galaxies and the unresolved cores of the globular clusters can be measured using the astrometric satellites Space Interferometry Mission ( SIM ) and Global Astrometric Interferometer for Astrophysics ( GAIA ). Using 100 globular clusters at projected radii 20 R 50 kpc with both radial velocities and proper motions, it will be possible to estimate the mass within 50 kpc to an accuracy of 20 per cent. Measuring the proper motions of the companion galaxies with SIM and GAIA will reduce the uncertainty in the total mass caused by the small size of the data set to 22 per cent.     

Phase-space density constraints on the formation of bulges from discs

The colours of stellar bulges and of inner stellar discs are comparable, and consistent with rather similar mean metallicities and ages. Indeed, the mean chemical abundances of the Milky Way bulge and old disc are approximately equal. Further, the scalelengths of discs and bulges are correlated. These observations imply a close relationship between discs and bulges, and may support models in which stellar bulges form from stellar discs. The present paper discusses constraints on this scenario from the stellar phase-space density of bulges and of discs. Phase-space density cannot increase in the absence of collisional processes. We show here that the maximum phase-space density of galactic bulges is higher than that of inner discs, arguing that instabilities of purely stellar discs cannot form bulges. Rather, the high densities of bulges probably reflect gaseous dissipation. Gas inflow from the disc would complicate the interpretation of the similarities in stellar colours between discs and bulges. Gas inflow from the stellar halo, if one exists, may be favoured on angular momentum grounds, but this means of formation of the bulge would provide no explanation for the relationships between disc and bulge in any one galaxy. At least in the Milky Way, the metallicity distribution of the bulge is not consistent with the bulge being built up from the dense regions of accreted satellite galaxies and/or globular clusters.     

Tidal disruption of globular clusters in dwarf galaxies with triaxial dark matter haloes

We use N -body simulations to study the tidal evolution of globular clusters (GCs) in dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxies. Our models adopt a cosmologically motivated scenario in which the dSph is approximated by a static Navarro, Frenk & White halo with a triaxial shape. We apply our models to five GCs spanning three orders of magnitude in stellar density and two in mass, chosen to represent the properties exhibited by the five GCs of the Fornax dSph. We show that only the object representing Fornax's least dense GC (F1) can be fully disrupted by Fornax's internal tidal field – the four denser clusters survive even if their orbits decay to the centre of Fornax. For a large set of orbits and projection angles, we examine the spatial and velocity distribution of stellar debris deposited during the complete disruption of an F1-like GC. Our simulations show that such debris appears as shells, isolated clumps and elongated overdensities at low surface brightness (≥26 mag arcsec⁻²), reminiscent of substructure observed in several Milky Way dSphs. Such features arise from the triaxiality of the galaxy potential and do not dissolve in time. The kinematics of the debris depends strongly on the progenitor's orbit. Debris associated with box and resonant orbits does not display stream motions and may appear 'colder'/'hotter' than the dSph's field population if the viewing angle is perpendicular/parallel to the progenitor's orbital plane. In contrast, debris associated with loop orbits shows a rotational velocity that may be detectable out to a few kpc from the galaxy centre. Chemical tagging that can distinguish GC debris from field stars may reveal whether the merger of GCs contributed to the formation of multiple stellar components observed in dSphs.     

Discs of satellites: the new dwarf spheroidals

The spatial distributions of the most recently discovered ultra-faint dwarf satellites around the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy are compared to the previously reported discs-of-satellites (DoS) of their host galaxies. In our investigation, we pay special attention to the selection bias introduced due to the limited sky coverage of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS). We find that the new Milky Way satellite galaxies follow closely the DoS defined by the more luminous dwarfs, thereby further emphasizing the statistical significance of this feature in the Galactic halo. We also note a deficit of satellite galaxies with Galactocentric distances larger than  100 kpc  that are away from the DoS of the Milky Way. In the case of Andromeda, we obtain similar results, naturally complementing our previous finding and strengthening the notion that the DoS are optical manifestations of a phase-space correlation of satellite galaxies.     

Tidal evolution of discy dwarf galaxies in the Milky Way potential: the formation of dwarf spheroidals

We conduct high-resolution collisionless N -body simulations to investigate the tidal evolution of dwarf galaxies on an eccentric orbit in the Milky Way (MW) potential. The dwarfs originally consist of a low surface brightness stellar disc embedded in a cosmologically motivated dark matter halo. During 10 Gyr of dynamical evolution and after five pericentre passages, the dwarfs suffer substantial mass loss and their stellar component undergoes a major morphological transformation from a disc to a bar and finally to a spheroid. The bar is preserved for most of the time as the angular momentum is transferred outside the galaxy. A dwarf spheroidal (dSph) galaxy is formed via gradual shortening of the bar. This work thus provides a comprehensive quantitative explanation of a potentially crucial morphological transformation mechanism for dwarf galaxies that operates in groups as well as in clusters. We compare three cases with different initial inclinations of the disc and find that the evolution is fastest when the disc is coplanar with the orbit. Despite the strong tidal perturbations and mass loss, the dwarfs remain dark matter dominated. For most of the time, the one-dimensional stellar velocity dispersion, σ, follows the maximum circular velocity, V _max, and they are both good tracers of the bound mass. Specifically, we find that   M _bound∝ V ^3.5_max  and     in agreement with earlier studies based on pure dark matter simulations. The latter relation is based on directly measuring the stellar kinematics of the simulated dwarf, and may thus be reliably used to map the observed stellar velocity dispersions of dSphs to halo circular velocities when addressing the missing satellites problem.     

Numerical modelling of the vertical structure and dark halo parameters in disc galaxies

The non‐linear dynamics of bending instability and vertical structure of a galactic stellar disc embedded into a spherical halo are studied with N‐body numerical modelling. Development of the bending instability in stellar galactic disc is considered as the main factor that increases the disc thickness. Correlation between the disc vertical scale height and the halo‐to‐disc mass ratio is predicted from the simulations. The method of assessment of the spherical‐to‐disc mass ratio for edge‐on spiral galaxies with a small bulge is considered. Modelling of eight edge‐on galaxies: NGC 891, NGC 4738, NGC 5170, UGC 6080, UGC 7321, UGC 8286, UGC 9422 and UGC 9556 is performed. Parameters of stellar discs, dark haloes and bulges are estimated. The lower limit of the dark‐to‐luminous mass ratio in our galaxies is of the order of one within the limits of their stellar discs. The dark haloes dominate by mass in the galaxies with very thin stellar discs (NGC 5170, UGC 7321 and UGC 8286) (© 2010 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Do high-velocity clouds form by thermal instability?

We examine the proposal that the H  i 'high-velocity' clouds (HVCs) surrounding the Milky Way and other disc galaxies form by condensation of the hot galactic corona via thermal instability. Under the assumption that the galactic corona is well represented by a non-rotating, stratified atmosphere, we find that for this formation mechanism to work the corona must have an almost perfectly flat entropy profile. In all other cases, the growth of thermal perturbations is suppressed by a combination of buoyancy and thermal conduction. Even if the entropy profile were nearly flat, cold clouds with sizes smaller than  10 kpc  could form in the corona of the Milky Way only at radii larger than  100 kpc  , in contradiction with the determined distances of the largest HVC complexes. Clouds with sizes of a few kpc can form in the inner halo only in low-mass systems. We conclude that unless even slow rotation qualitatively changes the dynamics of a corona, thermal instability is unlikely to be a viable mechanism for formation of cold clouds around disc galaxies.     

Spatial distribution of luminous X-ray binaries in spiral galaxies

We have modelled the spatial distribution of luminous X-ray binaries (XRBs) in spiral galaxies that are like the Milky Way using an evolutionary population synthesis code. In agreement with previous theoretical expectations and observations, we find that both high- and low-mass XRBs show clear concentrations towards the galactic plane and bulge. We also compare XRB distributions under the galactic potential with a dark matter halo and the modified Newtonian dynamics potential, and we suggest that the difference may serve as potential evidence to discriminate between these two types of model.     

Contrasting the chemical evolution of the Milky Way and Andromeda

The chemical evolution history of a galaxy hides clues about how it formed and has been changing through time. We have studied the chemical evolution history of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) to find which are common features in the chemical evolution of disc galaxies as well as which are galaxy-dependent. We use a semi-analytic multizone chemical evolution model. Such models have succeeded in explaining the mean trends of the observed chemical properties in these two Local Group spiral galaxies with similar mass and morphology. Our results suggest that while the evolution of the MW and M31 shares general similarities, differences in the formation history are required to explain the observations in detail. In particular, we found that the observed higher metallicity in the M31 halo can be explained by either (i) a higher halo star formation efficiency (SFE), or (ii) a larger reservoir of infalling halo gas with a longer halo formation phase. These two different pictures would lead to (i) a higher [O/Fe] at low metallicities, or (ii) younger stellar populations in the M31 halo, respectively. Both pictures result in a more massive stellar halo in M31, which suggests a possible correlation between the halo metallicity and its stellar mass.     

The effects of photoionization on galaxy formation – II. Satellite galaxies in the Local Group

We use a self-consistent model of galaxy formation and the evolution of the intergalactic medium to study the effects of the reionization of the Universe at high redshift on the properties of satellite galaxies like those seen around the Milky Way. Photoionization suppresses the formation of small galaxies, so that surviving satellites are preferentially those that formed before the Universe reionized. As a result, the number of satellites expected today is about an order of magnitude smaller than the number inferred by identifying satellites with subhaloes of the same circular velocity in high-resolution simulations of the dark matter. The resulting satellite population has an abundance similar to that observed in the Local Group, although the distribution of circular velocities differs somewhat from the available data. We explore many other properties of satellite galaxies, including their gas content, metallicity and star formation rate, and find generally good agreement with available data. Our model predicts the existence of many as yet undetected satellites in the Local Group. We quantify their observability in terms of their apparent magnitude and surface brightness, and also in terms of their constituent stars. A near-complete census of the Milky Way's satellites would require imaging to   V ≈20  and to a surface brightness fainter than 26 V -band magnitudes per square arcsecond. Satellites with integrated luminosity   V =15  should contain of order 100 stars brighter than   B =26  , with central stellar densities of a few tens per square arcminute. Discovery of a large population of faint satellites would provide a strong test of current models of galaxy formation.     

Stellar populations of the bulges of four spiral galaxies

Key information to understand the formation and evolution of disk galaxies are imprinted in the stellar populations of their bulges. This paper has the purpose to make available new measurements of the stellar population properties of the bulges of four spiral galaxies. Both the central values and radial profiles of the line strength of some of the most common Lick indices are measured along the major‐ and minor‐ axis of the bulge‐dominated region of the sample galaxies. The corresponding age, metallicity, and α /Fe ratio are derived by using the simple stellar population synthesis model predictions. The central values and the gradients of the stellar population properties of ESO‐LV 1890070, ESO‐LV 4460170, and ESO‐LV 5140100 are consistent with previous findings for bulges of spiral galaxies. On the contrary, the bulge of ESO‐LV 4500200 shows peculiar chemical properties possibly due to the presence of a central kinematically‐decoupled component. The negative metallicity gradient found in our bulges sample indicates a relevant role for the dissipative collapse in bulge formation. However, the shallow gradients found for the age and α /Fe ratio suggests that merging can not be completely ruled out for the sample bulges. This is confirmed by the properties of ESO‐LV 4500200 which can hardly be explained without invoking the capture of external material. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Interaction-induced star formation in a complete sample of 105 nearby star-forming galaxies

We investigate the clustering properties of a complete sample of 10⁵ star-forming galaxies drawn from the data release 4 (DR4) of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. On scales less than 100 kpc, the amplitude of the correlation function exhibits a strong dependence on the specific star formation rate (SSFR) of the galaxy. We interpret this as the signature of enhanced star formation induced by tidal interactions. We then explore how the average star formation rate (SFR) in a galaxy is enhanced as the projected separation r _p between the galaxy and its companions decreases. We find that the enhancement strongly depends on r _p, but very weakly on the relative luminosity of the companions. The enhancement is also stronger in low-mass galaxies than in high-mass galaxies. In order to explore whether a tidal interaction is not only sufficient, but also necessary to trigger enhanced star formation in a galaxy, we compute background subtracted neighbour counts for the galaxies in our sample. The average number of close neighbours around galaxies with low to average values of SFR/ M _* is close to zero. At the highest SSFRs, however, more than 40 per cent of the galaxies in our sample have a companion within a projected radius of 100 kpc. Visual inspection of the highest SFR/ M _* galaxies without companions reveals that more than 50 per cent of these are clear interacting or merging systems. We conclude that tidal interactions are the dominant trigger of enhanced star formation in the most strongly star-forming systems. Finally, we find clear evidence that tidal interactions not only lead to enhanced star formation in galaxies, but also cause structural changes such as an increase in concentration.     

The growth and assembly of a massive galaxy at z∼ 2

We study the stellar mass assembly of the Spiderweb galaxy  (MRC 1138−262)  , a massive   z = 2.2  radio galaxy in a protocluster and the probable progenitor of a brightest cluster galaxy. Nearby protocluster galaxies are identified and their properties are determined by fitting stellar population models to their rest-frame ultraviolet to optical spectral energy distributions. We find that within 150 kpc of the radio galaxy the stellar mass is centrally concentrated in the radio galaxy, yet most of the dust-uncorrected, instantaneous star formation occurs in the surrounding low-mass satellite galaxies. We predict that most of the galaxies within 150 kpc of the radio galaxy will merge with the central radio galaxy by   z = 0  , increasing its stellar mass by up to a factor of ≃2. However, it will take several hundred Myr for the first mergers to occur, by which time the large star formation rates are likely to have exhausted the gas reservoirs in the satellite galaxies. The tidal radii of the satellite galaxies are small, suggesting that stars and gas are being stripped and deposited at distances of tens of kpc from the central radio galaxy. These stripped stars may become intracluster stars or form an extended stellar halo around the radio galaxy, such as those observed around cD galaxies in cluster cores.     

Confirming a population of hot-dust dominated, star-forming, ultraluminous galaxies at high redshift

We identify eight   z > 1  radio sources undetected at 850 μm but robustly detected at 70 μm, confirming that they represent ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs) with hotter dust temperatures  (〈 T _d〉= 52 ± 10 K)  than submillimetre galaxies (SMGs) at similar luminosities and redshifts. These galaxies share many properties with SMGs: ultraviolet spectra consistent with starbursts, high stellar masses and radio luminosities. We can attribute their radio emission to star formation since high-resolution Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) radio maps show extended emission regions (with characteristic radii of 2–3 kpc), which are unlikely to be generated by active galactic nucleus (AGN) activity. These observations provide the first direct confirmation of hot, dusty ULIRGs which are missed by current submillimetre surveys. They have significant implications for future observations from the Herschel Space Observatory and Submillimetre Common-User Bolometer Array 2 (SCUBA2), which will select high-redshift luminous galaxies with less selection biases.     

The Milky Way Galaxy as a strong gravitational lens

We study the gravitational lensing effects of spiral galaxies by taking a model of the Milky Way and computing its lensing properties. The model is composed of a spherical Hernquist bulge, a Miyamoto–Nagai disc and an isothermal halo. As a strong lens, a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way can give rise to four different imaging geometries. They are (i) three images on one side of the galaxy centre ('disc triplets'), (ii) three images with one close to the centre ('core triplets'), (iii) five images and (iv) seven images. Neglecting magnification bias, we show that the core triplets, disc triplets and fivefold imaging are roughly equally likely. Even though our models contain edge-on discs, their image multiplicities are not dominated by disc triplets. The halo is included for completeness, but it has a small effect on the caustic structure, the time delays and brightnesses of the images.
The Milky Way model has a maximum disc (i.e. the halo is not dynamically important in the inner parts). Strong lensing by nearly edge-on disc galaxies breaks the degeneracy between the relative contributions of the disc and halo to the overall rotation curve. If a spiral galaxy has a submaximum disc, then the astroid caustic shrinks dramatically in size, whilst the radial caustic shrinks more modestly. This causes changes in the relative likelihood of the image geometries, specifically (i) core triplets are now ∼9/2 times more likely than disc triplets, (ii) the cross-section for threefold imaging is reduced by a factor of ∼2/3, whilst (iii) the cross-section for fivefold imaging is reduced by ∼1/2. Although multiple imaging is less likely (the cross-sections are smaller), the average total magnification is greater. The time delays are smaller, as the total projected lensing mass is reduced.     

The orbit and mass of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy

Possible orbital histories of the Sgr dwarf galaxy are explored. A special-purpose N -body code is used to construct the first models of the Milky Way–Sgr dwarf system in which both the Milky Way and the Sgr dwarf are represented by full N -body systems and followed for a Hubble time. These models are used to calibrate a semi-analytic model of the Sgr dwarf's orbit that enables us to explore a wider parameter space than is accessible to the N -body models. We conclude that the extant data on the Sgr dwarf are compatible with a wide range of orbital histories. At one extreme the Sgr dwarf initially possesses ∼10¹¹ M_⊙ and starts from a Galactocentric distance R _D(0)≳200 kpc. At the other extreme the Sgr dwarf starts with ∼10⁹ M_⊙ and R _D(0)∼60 kpc, similar to its present apocentric distance. In all cases the Sgr dwarf is initially dark matter dominated and the current velocity dispersion of the Sgr dwarf's dark matter is tightly constrained to be 21±2 km s⁻¹. This number is probably compatible with the smaller measured dispersion of the Sgr dwarf's stars because of (i) the dynamical difference between dark and luminous matter, and (ii) velocity anisotropy.     

The isolated dSph galaxy KKs3 in the local Hubble flow

We present SALT spectroscopy of a globular cluster in the center of the nearby isolated dSph galaxy KKs3 situated at a distance of 2.12 Mpc. Its heliocentric radial velocity is 316 ± 7 km s^–1 that corresponds to V_LG = 112 km s^–1 in the Local Group (LG) reference frame. We use its distance and velocity along with the data on other 35 field galaxies in the proximity of the LG to trace the local Hubble flow. The following basic properties of the local field galaxies are briefly discusse: morphology, absolute magnitudes, average surface brightnesses, specific star formation rates, and hydrogen mass‐to‐stellar mass ratios. Surprisingly, the sample of the neighboring isolated galaxies displays no signs of compression under the influence of the expanding Local Void. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)