Luminous Satellites of Early-Type Galaxies I: Spatial Distribution

TL;DR

This study analyzes the spatial distribution of faint satellites around early-type galaxies at intermediate redshifts, revealing an anisotropic, isothermal radial profile aligned with the host galaxy light, with implications for galaxy mass distribution and gravitational lensing.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed measurement of faint satellite distributions at intermediate redshifts, combining high-resolution imaging and advanced subtraction techniques to detect satellites close to hosts.

Findings

Satellite population comparable to Milky Way satellites

Radial profile is isothermal with gamma_p≈ -1.0

Satellite distribution is highly anisotropic and aligned with host light

Abstract

We study the spatial distribution of faint satellites of intermediate redshift (0.1<z<0.8), early-type galaxies, selected from the GOODS fields. We combine high resolution HST images and state-of-the-art host subtraction techniques to detect satellites of unprecedented faintness and proximity to intermediate redshift host galaxies (up to 5.5 magnitudes fainter and as close as 0."5/2.5 kpc to the host centers). We model the spatial distribution of objects near the hosts as a combination of an isotropic, homogenous background/foreground population and a satellite population with a power law radial profile and an elliptical angular distribution. We detect a significant population of satellites, Ns =1.7 (+0.9,-0.8) that is comparable to the number of Milky Way satellites with similar host-satellite contrast.The average projected radial profile of the satellite distribution is isothermal, gamma_p= -1.0(+0.3,-0.4), which is consistent with the observed central mass density profile of massive early-type galaxies. Furthermore, the satellite distribution is highly anisotropic (isotropy is ruled out at a >99.99% confidence level). Defining phi to be the offset between the major axis of the satellite spatial distribution and the major axis of the host light profile, we find a maximum posterior probability of phi = 0 and |phi| less than 42 degrees at the 68% confidence level. The alignment of the satellite distribution with the light of the host is consistent with simulations, assuming that light traces mass for the host galaxy as observed for lens galaxies. The anisotropy of the satellite population enhances its ability to produce the flux ratio anomalies observed in gravitationally lensed quasars.