Affiliation:
1. Department of Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
2. Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, CB3 0HA Cambridge, UK
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Recent measurements suggest that the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) may weigh as much as 25 per cent of the Milky Way (MW). In this work, we explore how such a large satellite affects mass estimates of the MW based on equilibrium modelling of the stellar halo or other tracers. In particular, we show that if the LMC is ignored, the MW mass within 200 kpc is overestimated by as much as 50 per cent. This bias is due to the bulk motion in the outskirts of the Galaxy’s halo and can be, at least in part, accounted for with a simple modification to the equilibrium modelling. Finally, we show that the LMC has a substantial effect on the orbit Leo I which acts to increase its present-day speed relative to the MW. We estimate that accounting for a $1.5\times 10^{11} \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$ LMC would lower the inferred MW mass to $\sim 10^{12} \, \mathrm{M}_\odot$.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Subject
Space and Planetary Science,Astronomy and Astrophysics
Cited by
43 articles.
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