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A sharper view of Pal 5's tails: Discovery of stream perturbations with a novel non-parametric technique

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Change log

Authors

Erkal, D 
Koposov, SE 

Abstract

Only in the Milky Way is it possible to conduct an experiment that uses stellar streams to detect low-mass dark matter subhaloes. In smooth and static host potentials, tidal tails of disrupting satellites appear highly symmetric. However, perturbations from dark subhaloes, as well as from GMCs and the Milky Way bar, can induce density fluctuations that destroy this symmetry. Motivated by the recent release of unprecedentedly deep and wide imaging data around the Pal 5 stellar stream, we develop a new probabilistic, adaptive and non-parametric technique that allows us to bring the cluster's tidal tails into clear focus. Strikingly, we uncover a stream whose density exhibits visible changes on a variety of angular scales. We detect significant bumps and dips, both narrow and broad: two peaks on either side of the progenitor, each only a fraction of a degree across, and two gaps, ∼2° and ∼9° wide, the latter accompanied by a gargantuan lump of debris. This largest density feature results in a pronounced intertail asymmetry which cannot be made consistent with an unperturbed stream according to a suite of simulations we have produced. We conjecture that the sharp peaks around Pal 5 are epicyclic overdensities, while the two dips are consistent with impacts by subhaloes. Assuming an age of 3.4 Gyr for Pal 5, these two gaps would correspond to the characteristic size of gaps created by subhaloes in the mass range of 106–107 M⊙ and 107–108 M⊙, respectively. In addition to dark substructure, we find that the bar of the Milky Way can plausibly produce the asymmetric density seen in Pal 5 and that GMCs could cause the smaller gap.

Description

Keywords

Galaxy: fundamental parameters, globular clusters: individual (Palomar 5), Galaxy: structure, dark matter

Journal Title

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0035-8711
1365-2966

Volume Title

470

Publisher

Oxford University Press
Sponsorship
European Research Council (308024)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/N004493/1)
Science and Technology Facilities Council (ST/N000927/1)
The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013)/ERC Grant Agreement no. 308024. SK thanks the United Kingdom Science and Technology Council (STFC) for the award of Ernest Rutherford fellowship (grant number ST/N004493/1).