Title: A dynamical study of the plane of satellite galaxies orbiting the Andromeda galaxy

Abstract:
The origin of the recently discovered "vast thin plane of corotating dwarf galaxies" orbiting the 
Andromeda galaxy remains a puzzle. Such a structure, which is around 400 kpc in diameter 
and has a perpendicular scatter of less than 15 kpc, cannot be readily explained by current 
galaxy formation models. Some alternative attempts have been made to explain this planar 
structure, but a validation or rejection of any possible formation scenario requires a   dynamical 
understanding of the system.Since there are no proper motion measurements of these satellite 
galaxies, we resort to numerical simulations to constrain their possible orbits around 
Andromeda and to test different formation scenarios for the observed plane, within the 
hierarchical accretion framework.