A Holistic Review of a Galactic Interaction
Douglas Grion Filho, Kathryn V. Johnston, Eloisa Poggio, Chervin F. P., Laporte, Ronald Drimmel, Elena D'Onghia

TL;DR
This study uses N-body simulations to analyze how the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy influences the Milky Way's disc, dark matter halo, and overall structure during a minor merger, revealing the roles of each component in disc heating and asymmetry formation.
Contribution
It provides a detailed decomposition of the different influences on the galactic disc during a minor merger, highlighting the roles of the satellite, dark matter halo, and self-gravity in disc evolution.
Findings
Satellite effects are localized around disc passages.
Dark matter halo distortion amplifies satellite influence.
Disc asymmetries and bar formation result from these interactions.
Abstract
Our situation as occupants of the Milky Way (MW) Galaxy, bombarded by the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, provides an intimate view of physical processes that can lead to the dynamical heating of a galactic disc. While this evolution is instigated by Sagittarius, it is also driven by the intertwined influences of the dark matter halo and the disc itself. We analyse an N-body simulation following a Sagittarius-like galaxy interacting with a MW-like host to disentangle these different influences during the stages of a minor merger. The accelerations in the disc plane from each component are calculated for each snapshot in the simulation, and then decomposed into Fourier series on annuli. The analysis maps quantify and compare the scales of the individual contributions over space and through time: (i) accelerations due to the satellite are only important around disc passages; (ii) the influence…
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