The Orbits and Interactions of Satellite Galaxies: A Fundamental Test of Cosmology

最近对银河系和仙女座的卫星星系的研究表明，它们在狭窄的平面上围绕宿主星系运行，这与我们对星系形成方式的理解大相径庭。利用最先进的超级计算机模拟，该项目将在标准宇宙学模型和非标准但物理驱动的替代模型中研究卫星星系的预测轨道历史。将这些预测与创新的统计模型相结合，它将确定观测到的卫星特性可以在标准宇宙学及其非标准替代方案中重现的条件。通过这种方式，该项目将揭示卫星星系作为宇宙学基础测试的潜力。

Recent studies of the satellite galaxies of the Milky Way and Andromeda have revealed that they orbit their host galaxies in narrow planes, significantly at odds with our understanding of how galaxies form. Using state-of-the-art supercomputer simulations, the project will investigate the predicted orbital histories of satellite galaxies in the standard cosmological model and in non-standard, yet physically driven, alternatives. Combining these predictions with innovative statistical modelling, it will determine the conditions under which observed satellite properties can be reproduced in the standard cosmology and its non-standard alternatives. In this way, the project will reveal the potency of satellite galaxies as a fundamental test of cosmology.