Milky way satellite properties in a ΛcDM universe

We revisit the issue of whether the basic properties of satellite galaxies around the Milky Way, such as their number density, radial distribution, and central mass, can be reproduced within current cosmological ΛCDM-based models. For this purpose we combine merger trees extracted from very high resolution N-body simulations with three different semi-analytic model (SAM) codes. These merger trees describe the hierarchical assembly of a Milky Way-like halo, while the SAMs are used to predict the relationship between the dark matter (sub)haloes and observable galaxy properties, allowing us to make a direct and detailed comparison with observational data. We conclude that both the luminosity function and the observed relation between luminosity and central mass can be naturally accounted for within the (Λ) Cold Dark Matter paradigm.