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

最近对银河系和仙女座卫星星系的研究表明，它们在狭窄的平面内绕宿主星系运行，这与我们对星系形成方式的理解明显不一致。该项目将使用最先进的超级计算机模拟，研究标准宇宙学模型和非标准但物理驱动的替代模型中卫星星系的预测轨道历史。将这些预测与创新的统计建模相结合，它将确定在标准宇宙学及其非标准替代方案中可以重现观测到的卫星特性的条件。通过这种方式，该项目将揭示卫星星系作为宇宙学基本测试的潜力。

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.