ACCRETION OF THE MAGELLANIC SYSTEM ONTO THE GALAXY

Journal Article · Thu Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 2011 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/742/2/110· OSTI ID:22004612

Nichols, Matthew; Colless, James; Bland-Hawthorn, Joss ^[1]; Colless, Matthew ^[2]

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1. Sydney Institute for Astronomy, School of Physics, University of Sydney, NSW 2006 (Australia)
2. Australian Astronomical Observatory, Epping, NSW 1710 (Australia)

Our Galaxy is surrounded by a large family of dwarf galaxies of which the most massive are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC). Recent evidence suggests that systems with the mass of the Local Group accrete galaxies in smaller groups rather than individually. If so, at least some of the Galaxy's dwarfs may have fallen in with the LMC and SMC, and were formed as part of the Magellanic system in the nearby universe. We use the latest measurements of the proper motions of the LMC and SMC and a multicomponent model of the Galactic potential to explore the evolution of these galaxy configurations under the assumption that the Magellanic system may once have contained a number of bound dwarf galaxies. We compare our results to the available kinematic data for the local dwarf galaxies, and examine whether this model can account for recently discovered stellar streams and the planar distribution of Milky Way satellites. We find that in situations where the LMC and SMC are bound to the Milky Way, the kinematics of Draco, Sculptor, Sextans, Ursa Minor, and the Sagittarius Stream are consistent with having fallen in along with the Magellanic system. These dwarfs, if so associated, will likely have been close to the tidal radius of the LMC originally and are unlikely to have affected each other throughout the orbit. However there are clear cases, such as Carina and Leo I, that cannot be explained this way.

• OSTI ID: 22004612
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 742; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
MASS
MILKY WAY
ORBITS
PROPER MOTION
SATELLITES
UNIVERSE