Letter to the Editor

Weighing Milky Way and Andromeda in an expanding ΛCDM Universe

Decreasing the Local Group mass

¹ Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), Ruth-Moufang-Strasse 1, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
² Helsinki Institute of Physics (HIP), PO Box 64 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland

Received: 6 March 2024
Accepted: 19 August 2024

Abstract

The dynamics of the Local Group (LG), especially the contribution of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M 31) galaxies, is sensitive to the presence of dark energy. This work analyzes the evolution of the LG by considering it as a two-body problem in a homogeneous and isotropic expanding spacetime in a full Λcold dark matter (ΛCDM) background. Using the timing argument (TA), which links LG dynamics to LG mass, we find that the full ΛCDM background predicts a ∼10% lower mass for the LG; whereas Λ alone predicts a ∼10% higher mass. The TA mass is modified by (i) simulations and (ii) the effect of the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) to alleviate the poorly constrained internal mass distributions of M 31 and the MW, their time evolution, and the unknown distribution of dark matter between them. First, using IllustrisTNG simulations, we accounted for the effects of two extended halos and their environment (rather than point particles) and predicted their mass (3.89 ± 0.62)×10¹² M_⊙. Second, the LMC effectively changes the separation and velocities of M 31 towards the MW and reduces the predicted mass to (2.33 ± 0.72)×10¹² M_⊙. Despite the uncertainties around dark matter between these galaxies, the overall estimated mass is compatible with the mere sum of the MW and M 31 masses. The total mass of the TA is compatible with other estimates, such as the Hubble flow and the Virial Theorem with other dwarf galaxies. The combined result shows, for the first time, that a lower mass estimate can be obtained from the TA, with a consistent embedding and other systematic effects, and without an additional dark matter halo around the galaxies.