A Possible "Too-Many-Satellites" Problem in the Isolated Dwarf Galaxy DDO 161

Fuente: arXiv
Salvato in:
Dettagli Bibliografici
Autori principali: Li, Jiaxuan, Greene, Jenny E., Danieli, Shany, Carlsten, Scott, Geha, Marla
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
Soggetti:
Accesso online:
Tags: Aggiungi Tag
Nessun Tag, puoi essere il primo ad aggiungerne!!
_version_ 1866914304751566848
author Li, Jiaxuan
Greene, Jenny E.
Danieli, Shany
Carlsten, Scott
Geha, Marla
author_facet Li, Jiaxuan
Greene, Jenny E.
Danieli, Shany
Carlsten, Scott
Geha, Marla
contents The abundance of satellite galaxies provides a direct test of $Λ$CDM and galaxy formation physics on small scales. While satellites of Milky Way-mass galaxies are well studied, those of dwarf galaxies remain largely unexplored. We present a systematic search for satellites around the isolated dwarf galaxy DDO~161 ($M_\star \approx 10^{8.4}\, M_\odot$) at a distance of 6 Mpc. We identify eight satellite candidates within the projected virial radius and confirm three new satellites through surface brightness fluctuation distance measurements from deep Magellan imaging data. Together with its confirmed satellite UGCA~319, DDO~161 has four confirmed satellites above $M_{\star}^{\rm sat} > 10^{5.4}\, M_\odot$, making it the most satellite-rich dwarf galaxy known to date. We compare this system with predictions from the TNG50 cosmological simulation, combined with currently established galaxy-halo connection models calibrated on Milky Way satellites, and find that DDO~161 has a satellite abundance far exceeding all current expectations. The rich satellite system of DDO~161 offers new insight into how low-mass galaxies occupy dark matter halos in low-density environments and may provide new constraints on the nature of dark matter.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_01733
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Possible "Too-Many-Satellites" Problem in the Isolated Dwarf Galaxy DDO 161
Li, Jiaxuan
Greene, Jenny E.
Danieli, Shany
Carlsten, Scott
Geha, Marla
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The abundance of satellite galaxies provides a direct test of $Λ$CDM and galaxy formation physics on small scales. While satellites of Milky Way-mass galaxies are well studied, those of dwarf galaxies remain largely unexplored. We present a systematic search for satellites around the isolated dwarf galaxy DDO~161 ($M_\star \approx 10^{8.4}\, M_\odot$) at a distance of 6 Mpc. We identify eight satellite candidates within the projected virial radius and confirm three new satellites through surface brightness fluctuation distance measurements from deep Magellan imaging data. Together with its confirmed satellite UGCA~319, DDO~161 has four confirmed satellites above $M_{\star}^{\rm sat} > 10^{5.4}\, M_\odot$, making it the most satellite-rich dwarf galaxy known to date. We compare this system with predictions from the TNG50 cosmological simulation, combined with currently established galaxy-halo connection models calibrated on Milky Way satellites, and find that DDO~161 has a satellite abundance far exceeding all current expectations. The rich satellite system of DDO~161 offers new insight into how low-mass galaxies occupy dark matter halos in low-density environments and may provide new constraints on the nature of dark matter.
title A Possible "Too-Many-Satellites" Problem in the Isolated Dwarf Galaxy DDO 161
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.01733