Dark influences: imprints of dark satellites on dwarf galaxies
Tjitske K. Starkenburg, Amina Helmi

TL;DR
This paper investigates how interactions with dark matter satellites can significantly alter the structure and evolution of dwarf galaxies, potentially leading to the formation of dwarf spheroidal galaxies.
Contribution
It demonstrates through simulations that dark satellites can cause substantial morphological and kinematic changes in dwarf galaxies, revealing a new formation channel for dwarf spheroidals.
Findings
Dark satellites can heat and disrupt dwarf galaxy disks.
Minor mergers can transform disk dwarfs into spheroidals.
Less concentrated halos are more susceptible to destruction.
Abstract
In the context of the current CDM cosmological model small dark matter haloes are abundant and satellites of dwarf galaxies are expected to be predominantly dark. Since low mass galaxies have smaller baryon fractions interactions with these satellites may leave particularly dramatic imprints. We uncover the influence of the most massive of these dark satellites on disky dwarf galaxies and the possible dynamical and morphological transformations that result from these interactions. We use a suite of carefully set-up, controlled simulations of isolated dwarf galaxies. The primary dwarf galaxies have solely a stellar disk in the dark matter halo and the secundaries are completely devoid of baryons. We vary the disk mass, halo concentration, initial disk thickness and inclination of the satellite orbit. The disky dwarf galaxies are heated and disrupted due to the minor merger…
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