The tidal evolution of satellite galaxies in cosmological simulations: insights from COLIBRE

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Main Authors: He, Feihong, Han, Jiaxin, Schaye, Joop, Wang, Wenting, Li, Zhaozhou, Ploeckinger, Sylvia, Chaikin, Evgenii, McGibbon, Robert J., Huško, Filip, Schaller, Matthieu, Benítez-Llambay, Alejandro, Richings, Alexander J., Trayford, James W., Frenk, Carlos S., Jiang, Fangzhou
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author He, Feihong
Han, Jiaxin
Schaye, Joop
Wang, Wenting
Li, Zhaozhou
Ploeckinger, Sylvia
Chaikin, Evgenii
McGibbon, Robert J.
Huško, Filip
Schaller, Matthieu
Benítez-Llambay, Alejandro
Richings, Alexander J.
Trayford, James W.
Frenk, Carlos S.
Jiang, Fangzhou
author_facet He, Feihong
Han, Jiaxin
Schaye, Joop
Wang, Wenting
Li, Zhaozhou
Ploeckinger, Sylvia
Chaikin, Evgenii
McGibbon, Robert J.
Huško, Filip
Schaller, Matthieu
Benítez-Llambay, Alejandro
Richings, Alexander J.
Trayford, James W.
Frenk, Carlos S.
Jiang, Fangzhou
contents We investigate the co-evolution of the stellar and dark matter mass of satellite galaxies using the COLIBRE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with subhaloes resolved by the history-based HBT-HERONS subhalo finder. We identify a universal tidal track connecting stellar mass loss to subhalo mass loss characterized by two distinct phases, which can be well described by the two-parameter model. The initial phase consists primarily of dark matter stripping, whereas stellar stripping becomes significant only after the subhalo bound mass fraction drops below a critical value ($\sim 0.057$). We find a bimodal mass loss rate distribution of subhaloes. In satellites with modest mass loss rates, the stellar mass is largely frozen. By contrast, the galaxy quickly becomes unresolved, along with the dark matter component for the extreme-mass-loss population, naturally explaining the lack of ``orphan'' galaxies in previous hydrodynamical simulations. Our model also predicts the formation condition for dark-matter-deficient galaxies (DMDGs), whose abundance peaks at $m_{*}\sim 10^{9.5}\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$. The abundance of DMDGs can be very sensitive to numerical effects, with COLIBRE resolving a much larger DMDG population than previous hydrodynamical simulations. We also estimate the influence of artificial disruption on the satellite stellar mass function, which can amount to 20 (50) per cent at $m_* \sim 10^{9} (10^{8}) \, \rm M_\odot$, given a baryonic mass resolution of $\sim 10^{6}\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_03105
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The tidal evolution of satellite galaxies in cosmological simulations: insights from COLIBRE
He, Feihong
Han, Jiaxin
Schaye, Joop
Wang, Wenting
Li, Zhaozhou
Ploeckinger, Sylvia
Chaikin, Evgenii
McGibbon, Robert J.
Huško, Filip
Schaller, Matthieu
Benítez-Llambay, Alejandro
Richings, Alexander J.
Trayford, James W.
Frenk, Carlos S.
Jiang, Fangzhou
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We investigate the co-evolution of the stellar and dark matter mass of satellite galaxies using the COLIBRE cosmological hydrodynamical simulations with subhaloes resolved by the history-based HBT-HERONS subhalo finder. We identify a universal tidal track connecting stellar mass loss to subhalo mass loss characterized by two distinct phases, which can be well described by the two-parameter model. The initial phase consists primarily of dark matter stripping, whereas stellar stripping becomes significant only after the subhalo bound mass fraction drops below a critical value ($\sim 0.057$). We find a bimodal mass loss rate distribution of subhaloes. In satellites with modest mass loss rates, the stellar mass is largely frozen. By contrast, the galaxy quickly becomes unresolved, along with the dark matter component for the extreme-mass-loss population, naturally explaining the lack of ``orphan'' galaxies in previous hydrodynamical simulations. Our model also predicts the formation condition for dark-matter-deficient galaxies (DMDGs), whose abundance peaks at $m_{*}\sim 10^{9.5}\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$. The abundance of DMDGs can be very sensitive to numerical effects, with COLIBRE resolving a much larger DMDG population than previous hydrodynamical simulations. We also estimate the influence of artificial disruption on the satellite stellar mass function, which can amount to 20 (50) per cent at $m_* \sim 10^{9} (10^{8}) \, \rm M_\odot$, given a baryonic mass resolution of $\sim 10^{6}\,\rm{M}_{\odot}$.
title The tidal evolution of satellite galaxies in cosmological simulations: insights from COLIBRE
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.03105