Baryons Matter: Why Luminous Satellite Galaxies Have Reduced Central Masses

Using high-resolution cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way-massed disk galaxies, we demonstrate that supernovae feedback and tidal stripping lower the central masses of bright (−15 < MV < −8) satellite galaxies. These simulations resolve high-density regions, comparable to giant molecular clouds, where stars form. This resolution allows us to adopt a prescription for H2 formation and destruction that ties star formation to the presence of shielded, molecular gas. Before infall, supernova feedback from the clumpy, bursty star formation captured by this physically motivated model leads to reduced dark matter (DM) densities and shallower inner density profiles in the massive satellite progenitors (Mvir 109 M , M∗ 107 M ) compared with DM-only simulations. The progenitors of the lower mass satellites are unable to maintain bursty star formation histories, due to both heating at reionization and gas loss from initial star-forming events, preserving the steep inner density profile predicted by DM-only simulations. After infall, gas stripping from satellites reduces the total central masses of satellites simulated with DM+baryons relative to DM-only satellites. Additionally, enhanced tidal stripping after infall due to the baryonic disk acts to further reduce the central DM densities of the luminous satellites. Satellites that enter with cored DM halos are particularly vulnerable to the tidal effects of the disk, exacerbating the discrepancy in the central masses predicted by baryon+DM and DM-only simulations. We show that DM-only simulations, which neglect the highly non-adiabatic evolution of baryons described in this work, produce denser satellites with larger central velocities. We provide a simple correction to the central DM mass predicted for satellites by DM-only simulations. We conclude that DM-only simulations should be used with great caution when interpreting kinematic observations of the Milky Way’s dwarf satellites.