Satellite Accretion onto Massive Galaxies with Central Black Holes

Minor mergers of galaxies are expected to be common in a hierarchical cosmology such as ΛCDM. Though less disruptive than major mergers, minor mergers are more frequent and thus have the potential to affect galactic structure significantly. In this paper we dissect the case-by-case outcome from a set of numerical simulations of a single satellite elliptical galaxy accreting onto a massive elliptical galaxy. We take care to explore cosmologically relevant orbital parameters and to set up realistic initial galaxy models that include all three relevant dynamical components: dark matter halos, stellar bulges, and central massive black holes. The effects of several different parameters are considered, including orbital energy and angular momentum, satellite density and inner density profile, satellite-to-host mass ratio, and presence of a black hole at the center of the host. Black holes play a crucial role in protecting the shallow stellar cores of the hosts, as satellites merging onto a host with a central black hole are more strongly disrupted than those merging onto hosts without black holes. Orbital parameters play an important role in determining the degree of disruption: satellites on less bound or more eccentric orbits are more easily destroyed than those on more bound or more circular orbits as a result of an increased number of pericentric passages and greater cumulative effects of gravitational shocking and tidal stripping. In addition, satellites with densities typical of faint elliptical galaxies are disrupted relatively easily, while denser satellites can survive much better in the tidal field of the host. Over the range of parameters explored, we find that the accretion of a single satellite elliptical galaxy can result in a broad variety of changes, in both signs, in the surface brightness profile and color of the central part of an elliptical galaxy. Our results show that detailed properties of the stellar components of merging satellites can strongly affect the properties of the remnants. Subject headings: galaxies: elliptical and lenticular, cD — galaxies: evolution — galaxies: formation