Abstract

Contributed Talk - Plenary

Mass Modeling the Andromeda Dwarf Galaxies

Connor S. Pickett, Michelle L.M. Collins
University of Surrey

Dwarf galaxies within the Local Group provide valuable insights into dark matter properties, owing to their high mass-to-light ratios. Milky Way (MW) satellite galaxies have revealed a distribution of dark matter mass profiles that vary between cuspy and cored profiles, where the former are found in systems with short duration star formation, and the latter in systems with extended star formation, in agreement with simulations. However, recent mass modeling of a small number of Andromeda (M31) dwarfs indicates a deviation from this trend. Notably, the majority of analyzed M31 dwarf spheroidals exhibit cored-like profiles, with densities lower than those observed in their MW counterparts, despite having short-duration star formation. This discrepancy reveals that DM densities established by MW observations may not be universal. In this talk, I will present more results from our project to model all the mass profiles of M31 dwarf galaxies and show that this deviation from the MW is widespread amongst M31’s brightest dwarf spheroidal galaxies. I will discuss whether Andromeda's more active merger history and tidal interactions may significantly influence the properties of its dwarf galaxies and whether these results can lead to an improvement in our knowledge of dark matter.