2008/08/31 by Xiaohu Yang, H. J. Mo, Frank C. van den Bosch · 1 citation
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Cosmology and Gravitation Theories #Dark matter #Dark matter halo #Dwarf galaxy #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy cluster #Galaxy group #Halo #Physics #Satellite galaxy #Stars #Velocity dispersion #astro-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1088/0004-637x/693/1/830
published as Astrophys.J.693:830-838,2009 · 9 pages, 7 figures. References added. Accepted for publication in ApJ
arxiv created 2008/11/14 · openalex publication_date 2009/03/01 · arxiv updated 2014/11/18 · openalex created_date 2020/11/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
In the standard paradigm, satellite galaxies are believed to be associated with the population of dark matter subhalos. The assumption usually made is that the relationship between satellite galaxies and subhalos is similar to that between central galaxies and host halos. In this paper, we use the conditional stellar mass functions of satellite galaxies obtained from a large galaxy group catalog together with models of the subhalo mass functions to explore the consequences of such assumption in connection to the stellar mass function of satellite galaxies and the fraction and fate of stripped stars from satellites in galaxy groups and clusters of different masses. The majority of the stripped stars in massive halos are predicted to end up as intracluster stars, and the predicted amounts of the intracluster component as a function of the velocity dispersion of galaxy system match well the observational results obtained by Gonzalez et al. ( 2007 ). The fraction of the mass in the stripped stars to that remain bound in the central and satellite galaxies is the highest (∼40% of the total stellar mass) in halos with masses M h ∼ 10 14 h −1 M ☉ . If all these stars end up in the intracluster component (Max), or a maximum amount of these stars is accreted into the central galaxy (Min), then the maximum fraction of the total stars in the whole universe that is in the diffused intracluster component is ∼19%, and the minimum is ∼5%. In the case of "Max," the stellar mass of the intracluster component in massive halos with M h ∼ 10 15 h −1 M ☉ is roughly six times as large as that of the central galaxy. This factor decreases to ∼2, 1, and 0.1 in halos with M h ∼ 10 14 , 10 13 , and 10 12 h −1 M ☉ , respectively. The total amount of stars stripped from satellite galaxies is insufficient to build up the central galaxies in halos with masses ≲10 12.5 h −1 M ☉ , and so the quenching of star formation must occur in halos with higher masses. In semianalytical models and simulations that do not resolve the diffused component, caution must be exercised when using the observed stellar mass/luminosity function of galaxies to constrain the star formation, feedback and merger processes in dark matter halos.