Figuring Out Gas & Galaxies In Enzo (FOGGIE) VII: The (Dis)Assembly of Stellar Halos
Anna C. Wright, Jason Tumlinson, Molly S. Peeples, Brian W. O'Shea,, Cassandra Lochhaas, Lauren Corlies, Britton D. Smith, Nguyen Binh, Ramona, Augustin, Raymond C. Simons

TL;DR
This study uses high-resolution cosmological simulations to analyze the properties, origins, and composition of stellar halos in Milky Way-like galaxies, providing predictions for upcoming wide-field observational surveys.
Contribution
It offers detailed insights into the mass, metallicity, and assembly history of stellar halos using the FOGGIE simulations, highlighting the in situ and accreted star contributions.
Findings
Stellar halos have masses, metallicity gradients, and surface brightness profiles consistent with observations.
30-40% of halo stars are formed in situ, mostly centrally concentrated.
Most accreted stars originate from 2-4 galaxies, with outer halos often dominated by few contributors.
Abstract
Over the next decade, the astronomical community will be commissioning multiple wide-field observatories well-suited for studying stellar halos in both integrated light and resolved stars. In preparation for this, we use five high-resolution cosmological simulations of Milky Way-like galaxies from the FOGGIE suite to explore the properties and components of stellar halos. These simulations are run with high time (5 Myr) and stellar mass (1000 M) resolution to better model the properties and origins of low density regions like stellar halos. We find that the FOGGIE stellar halos have masses, metallicity gradients, and surface brightness profiles that are consistent with observations. In agreement with other simulations, the FOGGIE stellar halos receive 30-40% of their mass from in situ stars. However, this population is more centrally concentrated in the FOGGIE simulations and…
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Taxonomy
TopicsAstronomy and Astrophysical Research · Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena · Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
