Recent Postdoc Making Strides in Galactic Astronomy

The Physics and Astronomy Department is excited to highlight the work of Amandine Doliva-Dolinsky, a recent postdoc, whose research is garnering attention in the astrophysics community. Doliva-Dolinsky is the lead author of the paper 'The NGC3109 Satellite System: The First Systematic Resolved Search for Dwarf Galaxies Around a SMC-mass Host' written in collaboration with Professor Burçin Mutlu-Pakdil, postdoc Laura Hunter, and graduate Kai Herron among many other authors. Doliva-Dolinsky now works at the University of Surrey in England, but much of the work for her paper happened while she was at Dartmouth. Her paper has been accepted for publication. 

Her work focuses on the detailed study of dwarf satellite galaxies surrounding NGC 3109, a galaxy similar in mass to the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). Using the Dark Energy Camera (DECam) on the Blanco 4-meter Telescope, Doliva-Dolinsky and her collaborators conducted the deepest search yet for dwarf galaxies around this SMC-mass host. Their methodology combined resolved and semi-resolved detection techniques to identify known satellites, such as Antlia and Antlia B, and to explore new candidates. Though a promising candidate was eventually confirmed to be a background dwarf galaxy, their search set well-defined detection limits and provided the first comprehensive luminosity function for satellites of an SMC-mass galaxy.

Amandine Doliva-Dolinsky.png

Amandine Doliva-Dolinsky

Notably, their findings indicate that NGC 3109 has more bright satellites than the average predicted by cold dark matter models, yet still within expected host-to-host variations. This work offers valuable insights into galaxy formation and evolution, particularly regarding low-mass host galaxies that have previously been understudied.

Doliva-Dolinsky's research was recently featured in the NOIRLab Staff Newsletter, which recognized the significance of her work and the use of DECam data to probe the population of dwarf satellite galaxies in the Local Volume. The newsletter highlighted how her study enhances our understanding of satellite systems around small dwarf galaxies — a critical piece of the cosmic puzzle. 

We applaud Amandine for her exemplary contributions to the field and look forward to following her future scientific achievements as she continues to make waves beyond Dartmouth. 

You can read Amandine Doliva-Dolinsky's full paper here.