On the Mass of M31

Abstract

Recent work by several groups has established the properties of the dwarf satellites to M31. We reexamine the reported kinematics of this group employing a fresh technique we have developed previously. By calculating the distribution of a chi statistic (which we define in the paper) for the M31 system, we conclude that the total mass (disk plus halo) of the primary is unlikely to be as great as that of our own Milky Way. In fact the chi distribution for M31 indicates that, like NGC 3992, it does not have a massive halo. In contrast, the analysis of the satellites of NGC 1961 and NGC 5084 provides strong evidence for massive halos surrounding both spiral galaxies.