We use the Auriga simulations to probe different satellite quenching mechanisms operating at different mass scales ($10^5 \, \mathrm{M}_\odot \lesssim M_\star \lesssim 10^{11} \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$) in Milky Way-like hosts. Our goal is to understand the origin of the satellite colour distribution and star-forming properties in both observations and simulations. We find that the satellite populations in the Auriga simulations, which was originally designed to model Milky Way-like host galaxies, resemble the populations in the Exploration of Local VolumE Satellites (ELVES) Survey and the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) survey in their luminosity function in the luminosity range −12 ≲ MV ≲ −15 and resemble ELVES in their quenched fraction and colour–magnitude distribution in the luminosity range −12 ≲ Mg ≲ −15. We find that satellites transition from blue colours to red colours at the luminosity range −15 ≲ Mg ≲ −12 in both the simulations and observations and we show that this shift is driven by environmental effects in the simulations. We demonstrate also that the colour distribution in both simulations and observations can be decomposed into two statistically distinct populations based on their morphological type or star-forming status that are statistically distinct. In the simulations, these two populations also have statistically distinct infall time distributions. The comparison presented here seems to indicate that this tension is resolved by the improved target selection of ELVES, but there are still tensions in understanding the colours of faint galaxies, of which ELVES appears to have a significant population of faint blue satellites not recovered in Auriga.
We study the relative fractions of quenched and star-forming satellite galaxies in the Satellites Around Galactic Analogs (SAGA) survey and Exploration of Local VolumE Satellites (ELVES) program, two nearby and complementary samples of Milky Way-like galaxies that take different approaches to identify faint satellite galaxy populations. We cross-check and validate sample cuts and selection criteria, as well as explore the effects of different star-formation definitions when determining the quenched satellite fraction of Milky Way analogues. We find the mean ELVES quenched fraction (〈QF〉), derived using a specific star formation rate (sSFR) threshold, decreases from ∼50 per cent to ∼27 per cent after applying a cut in absolute magnitude to match that of the SAGA survey (〈QF〉SAGA ∼9 per cent). We show these results are consistent for alternative star-formation definitions. Furthermore, these quenched fractions remain virtually unchanged after applying an additional cut in surface brightness. Using a consistently derived sSFR and absolute magnitude limit for both samples, we show that the quenched fraction and the cumulative number of satellites in the ELVES and SAGA samples broadly agree. We briefly explore radial trends in the ELVES and SAGA samples, finding general agreement in the number of star-forming satellites per host as a function of radius. Despite the broad agreement between the ELVES and SAGA samples, some tension remains with these quenched fractions in comparison to the Local Group and simulations of Milky Way analogues.
more » « less- Award ID(s):
- 1814208
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10437550
- Publisher / Repository:
- Oxford University Press
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
- Volume:
- 524
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0035-8711
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 5314-5326
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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