Butterfly in a Cocoon, Understanding the origin and morphology of Globular Cluster Streams: The case of GD-1

Khyati Malhan, Rodrigo A. Ibata, Raymond G. Carlberg, Monica Valluri, Katherine Freese

Published 2019-03-19Version 1

Tidally disrupted globular cluster streams are usually observed, and therefore perceived, as narrow, linear and one-dimensional structures in the 6D phase-space. Here we show that the GD-1 stellar stream, which is the tidal debris of a disrupted globular cluster, possesses a secondary diffuse and extended stellar component (~100pc wide) around it, detected at $>5\sigma$ confidence level. Similar morphological properties are seen in synthetic streams that are produced from star clusters that are formed within dark matter sub-halos and then accreted onto a massive host galaxy. This lends credence to the idea that the progenitor of the highly retrograde GD-1 stream was originally formed outside of the Milky Way in a now defunct dark satellite galaxy. The lack of any obvious dwarf galaxy that GD-1 may be associated with suggests that at least some globular clusters form in otherwise empty dark matter sub-halos.