Tidal stripping as a mechanism for placing globular clusters on wide orbits: the case of MGC1 in M31

TL;DR

This study investigates how tidal stripping from dwarf galaxies contributes to the population of outer globular clusters in M31, using simulations to match observed orbital properties and estimate the fraction of accreted clusters.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed numerical analysis linking tidal stripping to the placement of outer globular clusters like MGC1 in M31.

Findings

Simulations can reproduce MGC1-like orbits for captured clusters.

Tidal stripping accounts for a significant fraction of outer globular clusters.

Approximately 50% of outer clusters are accreted from dwarf galaxies.

Abstract

The globular clusters of large spiral galaxies can be divided into two populations: one which formed in-situ and one which comprises clusters tidally stripped away from other galaxies. In this paper we investigate the contribution to the outer globular cluster population in the M31 galaxy through donation of clusters from dwarf galaxies. We test this numerically by comparing the contribution of globular clusters from simulated encounters to the observed M31 globular cluster population. To constrain our simulations, we specifically investigate the outermost globular cluster in the M31 system, MGC1. The remote location of MGC1 favours the idea of it being captured, however, the cluster is devoid of features associated with tidal interactions. Hence we separate simulations where tidal features are present and where they are hidden. We find that our simulated encounters can place clusters on MGC1-like orbits. In addition, we find that tidal stripping of clusters from dwarf galaxies leaves them on orbits having a range of separations, broadly matching those observed in M31. We find that the specific energies of globular clusters captured by M31 closely matches those of the incoming host dwarf galaxies. Furthermore, in our simulations we find an equal number of accreted clusters on co-rotating and counter-rotating orbits within M31 and use this to infer the fraction of clusters that has been accreted. We find that even close in roughly 50% of the clusters are accreted, whilst this figure increases to over 80% further out.