Stability of Satellite Planes in M31 II: Effects of the Dark Subhalo
  Population
  The planar arrangement of nearly half the satellite galaxies of M31 has been
a source of mystery and speculation since it was discovered. With a growing
number of other host galaxies showing these satellite galaxy planes, their
stability and longevity have become central to the debate on whether the
presence of satellite planes are a natural consequence of prevailing
cosmological models, or represent a challenge. Given the dependence of their
stability on host halo shape, we look into how a galaxy plane's dark matter
environment influences its longevity. An increased number of dark matter
subhalos results in increased interactions that hasten the deterioration of an
already-formed plane of satellite galaxies in spherical dark halos. The role of
total dark matter mass fraction held in subhalos in dispersing a plane of
galaxies present non trivial effects on plane longevity as well. But any
misalignments of plane inclines to major axes of flattened dark matter halos
lead to their lifetimes being reduced to < 3 Gyrs. Distributing > 40% of total
dark mass in subhalos in the overall dark matter distribution results in a
plane of satellite galaxies that is prone to change through the 5 Gyr
integration time period.
