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Dwarf Spheroidals and Reionization: Is There a Link?. Nick Gnedin. Co-starring:. Massimo Ricotti (UMD). Our backyard. Who Commands Dwarf Galaxies?. Looks familiar?. Reionization? Formation of LG? Just a fluke?. Grebel 1998. Life of a Dwarf Galaxy. “True fossil”. “Polluted
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Dwarf Spheroidals and Reionization:Is There a Link? Nick Gnedin
Co-starring: Massimo Ricotti (UMD)
Who Commands Dwarf Galaxies? Looks familiar? • Reionization? • Formation of LG? • Just a fluke? Grebel 1998
Life of a Dwarf Galaxy “True fossil” “Polluted fossil” “Survivor” z ~ 6 reionization z ~ 3 Local Group forms z = 0 today Time
Observer’s view (Grebel 2005)
1 chimp 25 pc @z=8 900 M8 Resolving All • Reionized @ z=9 • Stopped @ z=8.3 Space Simulation Simulation Local Group @z=0 Mass
Fornax twins Born: 2003 CE Born: 13,283,456,789 BCE
Who Is Who? Survivors Polluted fossils Virtual dwarfs True fossils Real dwarfs Too bright & too large to be fossils
IC 10 IC 1613 IC 5152 LMC M32 NGC 55 NGC 147 NGC 185 NGC 205 NGC 3109 NGC 6822 Sextans A Sextans B SMC WLM Carina DDO 210 GR8 Fornax Leo A Leo I Leo II LGC 3 Pegasus Sagittarius And I And II And III And V And VI Antlia Cetus Draco KKR 25 Phoenix Sculptor Sextans Tucana Ursa Minor Dividing the Loot Survivors Luminosity True fossils Polluted fossils
Prediction “True fossils” (like And I and And II) are about 1.5 Gyr older than “survivors” (like WLM or NGC3109) $ Horizontal Branch Index can test this!
Const survival probability Best fit Lilliput Spheroidals?
Conclusions • Virtual galaxies formed before reionization resemble lowest mass dwarf spheroidals in all observable properties – is it a coincidence? • Possible tests: • spatial distribution with the Local Group (need to relate z=0 and z>6) • metallicity spread (but virtual dwarfs have it too) • alpha-to-iron ratio (no signatures of SNIa in dSphs – Tsujimoto 2005) • relative ages using the HB index (perhaps, the best method) • existence of “lilliput spheroidals”. Sextans Ursa Major