Accretion in action: phase space coherence of stellar debris and globular clusters in Andromeda's South-West Cloud★

A. D. Mackey, G. F. Lewis, M. L. M. Collins, N. F. Bate, R. A. Ibata, N. F. Martin, Scott Chapman, A. Conn, P. Elahi, A. M. N. Ferguson, A. Huxor, M. Irwin, A. McConnachie, B. McMonigal, J. Peñarrubia, J. Veljanoski

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

A central tenet of the current cosmological paradigm is that galaxies grow over time through the accretion of smaller systems. Here, we present new kinematic measurements near the centre of one of the densest pronounced substructures, the South-West Cloud, in the outer halo of our nearest giant neighbour, the Andromeda galaxy. These observations reveal that the kinematic properties of this region of the South-West Cloud are consistent with those of PA-8, a globular cluster previously shown to be co-spatial with the stellar substructure. In this sense, the situation is reminiscent of the handful of globular clusters that sit near the heart of the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy, a system that is currently being accreted into the Milky Way, confirming that accretion deposits not only stars but also globular clusters into the haloes of large galaxies.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L89-L93
JournalMonthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society: Letters
Volume445
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2014

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • galaxies: evolution
  • galaxies: haloes
  • galaxies: individual: M31
  • galaxies: kinematics and dynamics
  • galaxies: star clusters: general

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