Stellar Tidal Streams in External Galaxies

TL;DR

This paper reviews the current observational knowledge of stellar tidal streams in external galaxies, discussing their properties, modeling challenges, and implications for hierarchical galaxy formation.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of extragalactic tidal streams, highlighting observational techniques, modeling limitations, and their significance in understanding galaxy evolution.

Findings

Streams are observed in resolved stellar populations and integrated light.

Modeling is limited by the lack of resolved stellar kinematics.

Substructure exists on smaller mass scales, affecting dwarf galaxy evolution.

Abstract

To place the highly substructured stellar halos of the Milky Way and M31 in a larger context of hierarchical galaxy formation, it is necessary to understand the prevalence and properties of tidal substructure around external galaxies. This chapter details the current state of our observational knowledge of streams in galaxies in and beyond the Local Group, which are studied both in resolved stellar populations and in integrated light. Modeling of individual streams in extragalactic systems is hampered by our inability to obtain resolved stellar kinematics in the streams, though many streams contain alternate luminous kinematic tracers, such as globular clusters or planetary nebulae. We compare the observed structures to the predictions of models of galactic halo formation, which provide insight in the number and properties of streams expected around Milky Way like galaxies. More specifically, we discuss the inferences that can be made about stream progenitors based only on observed morphologies. We expand our discussion to consider hierarchical accretion at lower mass scales, in particular the observational evidence that substructure exists on smaller mass scales and the effects accretion events may have on the evolution of dwarf galaxies (satellite or isolated). Lastly, we discuss potential correlations between the presence of substructure in the halo and the structural properties of the disk. While many exciting discoveries have been made of tidal substructures around external galaxies, the "global" questions of galaxy formation and evolution via hierarchical accretion await a more complete census of the low surface brightness outskirts of galaxies in and beyond the Local Group.