Properties of Tidally-Heated Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies
Abstract
Since the identification of a large population of Ultra-Diffuse dwarf Galaxies (UDGs) in the Coma cluster, there has been a renewed interest as to the role that the cluster environments play in the evolution of dwarf galaxies. Evidence from the morphologies, radial alignment, and abundance of UDGs suggests that cluster environments play an important role in the evolution of these unique systems. In this talk, I will present a model for the formation of cluster UDGs through tidal stripping and heating of dwarf galaxies as they orbit within the cluster. This model is able to reproduce many aspects of the observed UDG population, including the size distribution and the dependence of UDG abundance with cluster mass, assuming that UDGs fall into the cluster living in cored dark matter halos. Given this model for UDG formation, I will also discuss the expected stellar and globular cluster populations, both for the whole galaxy and the presence of possible population gradients within UDGs. Notably, as large UDGs occupy a particular region in orbital parameter space, they offer a unique testbed for our understanding of the role that the cluster environment has in quenching star-formation within dwarfs.
- Publication:
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American Astronomical Society Meeting Abstracts #233
- Pub Date:
- January 2019
- Bibcode:
- 2019AAS...23341603C