Orbital Dependence of Galaxy Properties in Satellite Systems of Galaxies
  We study the dependence of satellite galaxy properties on the distance to the
host galaxy and the orbital motion using the SDSS data. From SDSS DR7 we find
3515 isolated satellite systems of galaxies at z<0.03 that contain 8904
satellite galaxies. Using this sample we construct a catalog of 635 satellites
associated with 215 host galaxies whose spin directions are determined by our
inspection of the SDSS color images and/or by spectroscopic observations in the
literature. We divide satellite galaxies into prograde and retrograde orbit
subsamples depending on their orbital motion respect to the spin direction of
the host. We find that the number of galaxies in prograde orbit is nearly equal
to that of retrograde orbit galaxies: the fraction of satellites in prograde
orbit is 50+/-2%. The velocity distribution of satellites with respect to their
hosts is found almost symmetric: the median bulk rotation of satellites is
-1+/- 8 km/s. It is found that the radial distribution of early-type satellites
in prograde orbit is strongly concentrated toward the host while that of
retrograde ones shows much less concentration. We also find the orbital speed
of late-type satellites in prograde orbit increases as the projected distance
to the host (R) decreases while the speed decreases for those in retrograde
orbit. At R less than 0.1 times the host virial radius the orbital speed
decreases in both prograde and retrograde orbit cases. Prograde satellites are
on average fainter than retrograde satellites for both early and late
morphological types. The u-r color becomes redder as R decreases for both
prograde and retrograde orbit late-type satellites. The differences between
prograde and retrograde orbit satellites may be attributed to their different
origin or the different strength of physical processes that they have
experienced through hydrodynamic interactions with their host galaxies.
