Galaxies and Overmerging: What Does it Take to Destroy a Satellite Galaxy?

Abstract

The Ultra Compact Dwarf (UCD) galaxies recently discovered in the Fornax and Virgo clusters exhibit structural similarity to the dense nuclei of nucleated dEs indicating that the progenitor galaxy and its halo have been entirely tidally disrupted. Using high resolution $N$-body simulations with up to ten million particles we investigate the evolution and tidal stripping of substructure halos orbiting within a host potential. We find that complete disruption of satellite halos modeled following the NFW density profile occurs only for very low values of concentration in disagreement with the theoretical predictions of CDM models. This discrepancy is further exacerbated when we include the effect of baryons since disk formation increases the central density.