DDO 68: A flea with smaller fleas that on him prey
F. Annibali (INAF-OABO), C. Nipoti (UNIBO), L. Ciotti (UNIBO), M. Tosi, (INAF-OABO), A. Aloisi (STSCI), M. Bellazzini (INAF-OABO), M. Cignoni, (UNIPI), F. Cusano (INAF-OABO), D. Paris (INAF-OAR), E. Sacchi (INAF-OABO,, UNIBO)
TL;DR
This study provides new photometric data revealing stellar streams in the extremely metal-poor dwarf galaxy DDO 68, offering direct evidence of multiple low-mass galaxy mergers supported by N-body simulations.
Contribution
It presents the first detailed observational evidence of multiple dwarf galaxy mergers at very low mass scales, supported by N-body modeling.
Findings
Detection of stellar streams indicating past mergers
N-body simulation reproduces DDO 68's morphology
Evidence of ongoing accretion in a metal-poor dwarf galaxy
Abstract
We present new photometry of the dwarf irregular galaxy DDO 68, one of the most metal-poor and least massive dwarfs, located in the Lynx-Cancer Void. The images were acquired with the Large Binocular Telescope in the g and r passbands, and show unequivocally that DDO 68 has previously unknown stellar streams related to the accretion of at least two smaller companions: a flea with smaller fleas biting it, to put it in Jonathan Swift's words. Our data provide direct observational evidence of multiple merging occurring at very low galactic mass scales. We present the results of an N-body simulation of the interaction of three dwarf galaxies which reproduces well the main morphological features of DDO 68.
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Taxonomy
TopicsCephalopods and Marine Biology