The Milky Way’s Rowdy Neighbors: The Effects of the Large Magellanic Cloud and Sagittarius Dwarf on the Milky Way Disk

Abstract

The Milky Way (MW) is a barred spiral galaxy shaped by tidal interactions with its satellites. The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and the Sagittarius dwarf galaxy (Sgr) are the dominant influences at the present day. This paper presents a suite of four 10 ^9 particle N -body simulations, illustrating the response of the stellar disk of the MW to the close approach of the LMC and the merger of Sgr into the MW. The suite is intended to provide a resource for others to study the complex interactions between the MW and its satellites independently and together, in comparison to an isolated disk control simulation. The high temporal and mass resolution allows for a quantitative Fourier decomposition of the stellar kinematics, disentangling the individual influence of each satellite on the MW. In our preliminary analysis, we find that the influences from the LMC and Sgr on the disk of the MW appear distinct, additive, and separable within our tailored simulations. Notably, the corrugations induced by Sgr reproduce the large radial velocity wave seen in the data. Overall, our findings emphasise the need to include both satellites when modeling the present-day state of the MW structure and kinematics.

Keywords

• Milky Way disk
• the Milky Way physics
• Galaxy disks
• the Milky Way
• Milky Way dynamics
• Milky Way evolution