Resonant stripping as the origin of dwarf spheroidal galaxies

Dwarf spheroidal galaxies are the most dark-matter-dominated systems in the nearby Universe(1-3) and their origin is one of the outstanding puzzles of how galaxies form. Dwarf spheroidals are poor in gas and stars, making them unusually faint(4-6), and those known as ultra-faint dwarfs(7,8) have by far the lowest measured stellar content of any galaxy(9,10). Previous theories(11) require that dwarf spheroidals orbit near giant galaxies like the Milky Way, but some dwarfs have been observed in the outskirts of the Local Group(12). Here we report simulations of encounters between dwarf disk galaxies and somewhat larger objects. We find that the encounters excite a process, which we term 'resonant stripping', that transforms them into dwarf spheroidals. This effect is distinct from other mechanisms proposed to form dwarf spheroidals, including mergers(13), galaxy galaxy harassment(14), or tidal and ram pressure stripping, because it is driven by gravitational resonances. It may account for some of the observed properties of dwarf spheroidals in the Local Group. Within this framework, dwarf spheroidals should form and interact in pairs, leaving detectable long stellar streams and tails.