Test dwarf galaxy evolution in an external gravitational potential

Determine how the four faint dwarf galaxies simulated with the EDGE-INFERNO star-by-star cosmological framework evolve when embedded in an external gravitational potential representative of a host galaxy environment, rather than in isolation, to characterize the impact of environmental effects on their structural and photometric properties.

Background

The simulations presented model four faint dwarf galaxies forming and evolving in the field, directly predicting resolved-star observables and structural parameters. The authors note that these systems exhibit extended stellar halos that are faint and likely affected by tidal stripping in group environments, which are not present in their field simulations.

To assess potential biases in recovering structural parameters due to environmental effects (e.g., tidal stripping by a massive host), the authors explicitly state that testing the evolution of their simulated dwarfs in an external potential is deferred, identifying a concrete unknown about how these galaxies would evolve under such conditions.