Andrew Eden

Mock catalogs are a powerful tool to predict observables of future surveys and to compare data sets with simulations. We present mock catalogs of the Vera Rubin Observatory using the simulated Milky Way (MW) stellar halos from the Feedback In Realistic Environments (FIRE) simulations along with the ANANKE library. These catalogs provide generated observational data for the Vera Rubin Observatory telescope from seven selected Milky Way-like galaxies. We chose the galaxies and their respective snapshots to feature satellite galaxies such as the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) in the galactic halo at their pericentric passage around their host. We generated all-sky density maps for stellar and dark matter overdensities in the halos from the FIRE data and the ANANKE catalog. By comparing the overdensities between the original simulated data and the generated mock catalogs, we can establish how the Vera Rubin Observatory will be able to characterize the perturbations induced by the LMC on the MW’s halo.

This poster will be displayed on Monday and Tuesday.