The Survival of the Sagittarius Dwarf Galaxy and the Flatnessof the Rotation Curve of the Galaxy

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
How has the "fluffy" Sgr dwarf galaxy survived its 10-20 pericentric passages in the halo of the Milky Way for a Hubble time? The scenario that Sgr was deflected to its current orbit by the Magellanic Clouds after a rendezvous on the north Galactic pole 2-3 Gyr ago is examined. It is shown that the conditions of the collision fix both the sense of circulation of Sgr and the Large Magellanic Cloud around the Galaxy and the slope of the Galactic rotation curve. The model argues that the two orthogonal polar circles traced by a dozen or so Galactic halo dwarf galaxies and globular clusters (LMC-SMC-Magellanic Stream-Draco-Ursa Minor along l ≈ 270° and M54-Ter 7-Ter 8-Arp 2-NGC 2419-Pal 15 along l ≈ 0°) are streams of tidal relics from two ancient galaxies that were captured on two intersecting polar rosette orbits by the Galaxy. Our results favor the interpretation of microlensing toward the LMC being due to source or lens stars in tidal features of the Magellanic Clouds. We discuss direct and indirect observations to test the collision scenario.