Kinematics and simulations of the stellar stream in the halo of the umbrella galaxy
Foster, C. Lux, H. Romanowsky, A. J. Martinez-Delgado, D. Zibetti, S. Arnold, J. A. Brodie, J. P. Ciardullo, R. GaBany, R. J. Merrifield, M. R.
Foster, C.
Lux, H.
Romanowsky, A. J.
Martinez-Delgado, D.
Zibetti, S.
Arnold, J. A.
Brodie, J. P.
Ciardullo, R.
GaBany, R. J.
Merrifield, M. R.
Repository DOI
Publication Date
2014-07-02
Keywords
galaxies: individual: ngc 4651, galaxies: interactions, galaxies: kinematics and dynamics, sagittarius dwarf galaxy, dark-matter haloes, milky-way halo, intracluster planetary-nebulae, subaru/suprime-cam survey, globular-cluster systems, tully-fisher relation, digital sky survey, local-group, standard candles
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Article
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Citation
Foster, C. Lux, H.; Romanowsky, A. J.; Martinez-Delgado, D.; Zibetti, S.; Arnold, J. A.; Brodie, J. P.; Ciardullo, R.; GaBany, R. J.; Merrifield, M. R.; Singh, N.; Strader, J. (2014). Kinematics and simulations of the stellar stream in the halo of the umbrella galaxy. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 442 (4), 3544-3564
Abstract
We study the dynamics of faint stellar substructures around the Umbrella Galaxy, NGC 4651, which hosts a dramatic system of streams and shells formed through the tidal disruption of a nucleated dwarf elliptical galaxy. We elucidate the basic characteristics of the system (colours, luminosities, stellar masses) using multiband Subaru/Suprime-Cam images. The implied stellar mass ratio of the ongoing merger event is similar to 1:50. We identify candidate kinematic tracers (globular clusters, planetary nebulae, H ii regions) and follow up a subset with Keck/DEIMOS (DEep Imaging Multi-object Spectrograph) spectroscopy to obtain velocities. We find that 15 of the tracers are likely associated with halo substructures, including the probable stream progenitor nucleus. These objects delineate a kinematically cold feature in position-velocity phase space. We model the stream using single test particle orbits, plus a rescaled pre-existing N-body simulation. We infer a very eccentric orbit with a period of similar to 0.35 Gyr and turning points at similar to 2-4 and similar to 40 kpc, implying a recent passage of the satellite through the disc, which may have provoked the visible disturbances in the host galaxy. This work confirms that the kinematics of low surface brightness substructures can be recovered and modelled using discrete tracers - a breakthrough that opens up a fresh avenue for unravelling the detailed physics of minor merging.
Funder
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Publisher DOI
10.1093/mnras/stu1074
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland