Back to Search
Start Over
The colours of satellite galaxies in the Illustris simulation
- Source :
- Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society : letters, 2015, Vol.447(1), pp.L6-L10 [Peer Reviewed Journal], arXiv
- Publication Year :
- 2018
- Publisher :
- Apollo - University of Cambridge Repository, 2018.
-
Abstract
- Observationally, the fraction of blue satellite galaxies decreases steeply with host halo mass, and their radial distribution around central galaxies is significantly shallower in massive (M_* >10e11M_sun) than in Milky Way like systems. Theoretical models, based primarily on semi-analytical techniques, have had a long-standing problem with reproducing these trends, instead predicting too few blue satellites in general but also estimating a radial distribution that is too shallow, regardless of primary mass. In this Letter, we use the Illustris cosmological simulation to study the properties of satellite galaxies around isolated primaries. For the first time, we find good agreement between theory and observations. We identify the main source of this success relative to earlier work to be a consequence of the large gas contents of satellites at infall, a factor ~5-10 times larger than in semi-analytical models. Because of their relatively large gas reservoirs, satellites can continue to form stars long after infall, with a typical timescale for star-formation to be quenched ~2 Gyr in groups but more than ~5 Gyr for satellites around Milky Way like primaries. The gas contents we infer are consistent with z=0 observations of HI gas in galaxies, although we find large discrepancies among reported values in the literature. A testable prediction of our model is that the gas-to-stellar mass ratio of satellite progenitors should vary only weakly with cosmic time.<br />5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters
- Subjects :
- Physics
010308 nuclear & particles physics
Astronomy
FOS: Physical sciences
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
Astrophysics::Cosmology and Extragalactic Astrophysics
Mass ratio
01 natural sciences
Astrophysics - Astrophysics of Galaxies
Galaxy
galaxies: haloes
Stars
Space and Planetary Science
Primary (astronomy)
Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA)
0103 physical sciences
Satellite galaxy
galaxies: structure
Satellite
Halo
galaxies: evolution
010303 astronomy & astrophysics
Cosmic time
Astrophysics::Galaxy Astrophysics
Subjects
Details
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society : letters, 2015, Vol.447(1), pp.L6-L10 [Peer Reviewed Journal], arXiv
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....93e234431c936f0954f72969b5dd272e
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.17863/cam.30202