Sign on

SAO/NASA ADS Astronomy Abstract Service

· Find Similar Abstracts (with default settings below)
· Electronic Refereed Journal Article (HTML)
· arXiv e-print (arXiv:astro-ph/0702495)
· References in the article
· Citations to the Article (50) (Citation History)
· Refereed Citations to the Article
· SIMBAD Objects (6)
· NED Objects (3)
· Also-Read Articles (Reads History)
·
· Translate This Page
Title:
Early gas stripping as the origin of the darkest galaxies in the Universe
Authors:
Mayer, L.; Kazantzidis, S.; Mastropietro, C.; Wadsley, J.
Affiliation:
AA(Institute for Theoretical Physics, University of Zurich, Winterthurestrasse 190, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland), AB(Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, Department of Physics, Stanford University, MS 29, Stanford, California 94309, USA), AC(Universitäts Sternwarte München, Scheinerstrasse 1, D-81679 München, Germany), AD(Department of Physics and Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4M1, Canada)
Publication:
Nature, Volume 445, Issue 7129, pp. 738-740 (2007). (Nature Homepage)
Publication Date:
02/2007
Origin:
NATURE
DOI:
10.1038/nature05552
Bibliographic Code:
2007Natur.445..738M

Abstract

The known galaxies most dominated by dark matter (Draco, Ursa Minor and AndromedaIX) are satellites of the Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxies. They are members of a class of faint galaxies, devoid of gas, known as dwarf spheroidals, and have by far the highest ratio of dark to luminous matter. None of the models proposed to unravel their origin can simultaneously explain their exceptional dark matter content and their proximity to a much larger galaxy. Here we report simulations showing that the progenitors of these galaxies were probably gas-dominated dwarf galaxies that became satellites of a larger galaxy earlier than the other dwarf spheroidals. We find that a combination of tidal shocks and ram pressure swept away the entire gas content of such progenitors about ten billion years ago because heating by the cosmic ultraviolet background kept the gas loosely bound: a tiny stellar component embedded in a relatively massive dark halo survived until today. All luminous galaxies should be surrounded by a few extremely dark-matter-dominated dwarf spheroidal satellites, and these should have the shortest orbital periods among dwarf spheroidals because they were accreted early.
Bibtex entry for this abstract   Preferred format for this abstract (see Preferences)
   

Find Similar Abstracts:

Use: Authors
Title
Abstract Text
Return: Query Results Return    items starting with number
Query Form
Database: Astronomy
Physics
arXiv e-prints