An analysis of satellite planar configurations around the MW and M31: singling out new high quality planes
Abstract
We present a detailed characterization of planes of satellites in the Milky Way (MW) and M31 systems. To this end we introduce an extension to the '4-galaxy-normal density plot' method Pawlowski13, by which plot over-densities signal the normal direction to predominant planes of satellites within a given sample. For a given over-density, the extension provides a collection of planes, each including a different number of objects N sat. We apply this method to the position data of confirmed MW and M31 satellites and quantify the quality of planes through the outputs of a Tensor of Inertia plane-fitting technique. Plane quality is quantified in terms of population (N sat) and flattening (the short-to-long axis ratio c/a or the rms thickness normal to the plane). Therefore, planes with the same population or flattening can be compared with each other allowing us to single-out best-quality planes. For the first time, we study the second-most predominant planar configuration of satellites in M31, singling out a plane with 18 satellite members that shows a quality comparable to the Great Plane of Andromeda (GPoA, with N sat=19) despite it being more affected by distance uncertainties. This structure is viewed nearly face-on from the MW and is approximately normal to the GPoA. Overall, we find planes of satellites around the MW and M31 with higher qualities than those previously reported with a given N sat. We also show that mass plays no role in determining a satellite's membership or not to the respective best-quality planes.