THE EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENT ON MILKY-WAY-MASS GALAXIES IN A CONSTRAINED SIMULATION OF THE LOCAL GROUP

Abstract

In this Letter, we present, for the first time, a study of star formation rate (SFR), gas fraction,\r and galaxy morphology of a constrained simulation of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) galaxies\r compared to other MW-mass galaxies. By combining with unconstrained simulations, we cover a\r sufficient volume to compare these galaxies’ environmental densities ranging from the field to that\r of the Local Group (LG). This is particularly relevant as it has been shown that, quite generally,\r galaxy properties depend intimately upon their environment, most prominently when galaxies in\r clusters are compared to those in the field. For galaxies in loose groups such as the LG, however,\r environmental effects have been less clear. We consider the galaxy’s environmental density in\r spheres of 1200 kpc (comoving) and find that while environment does not appear to directly affect\r morphology, there is a positive trend with SFRs. This enhancement in star formation occurs\r systematically for galaxies in higher density environments, regardless whether they are part of the\r LG or in filaments. Our simulations suggest that the richer environment at megaparsec scales may\r help replenish the star-forming gas, allowing higher specific SFRs in galaxies such as the MW.