Stellar Tidal Streams beyond the Local Group
Abstract
Within the hierarchical framework for galaxy formation, merging and
tidal interactions are expected to shape large galaxies up to the
present day. While major mergers are quite rare at present, minor
mergers and satellite disruptions – that result in stellar streams –
should be common, and are indeed seen in the stellar halos of the Milky
Way and the Andromeda galaxy. In the last years, the Stellar Stream
Legacy Survey (PI. Martinez-Delgado) has exploited available deep
imaging of some nearby spiral galaxies with the ultimate aim of
estimating the frequency, morphology and stellar luminosity/mass
distribution of these structures in the local Universe. In this talk, I
will present the first results of our systematic survey of stellar
streams together with some recent follow-up observations (e.g. Megara,
Subaru) and N-body modelling of the most striking streams. Finally,
I will discuss what we can learn about galaxy formation from the results
of this survey, including the comparison with the available L-CDM
cosmological simulations, and our future plans to extend this stream survey
at lower surface brightness regime with the recently approved ARRAKHIS ESA
fast-mission.