The Origin of the Diversity of Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxies

We present a large sample of 166 fully self-consistent hydrodynamical N-body/Tree-SPH simulations of isolated dwarf spheroidal galaxies [1]. It has enabled us to identify the key physical parameters and mechanisms at the origin of the observed variety in the Local Group dSph properties. Using the recent data of the ESO Large Programme DART, we have constrained the star formation history of four Milky Way dSphs, Sextans, Carina, Sculptor and Fornax. For the first time, [Mg/Fe] vs [Fe/H] diagrams derived from high-resolution spectroscopy of hundreds of individual stars are confronted with model predictions. Global relations of dSph are successfully reproduced. Our study shows that the total initial mass of these systems is the main driver of their evolution and explains the diversity in luminosity and metallicity observed in the Local Group dSphs.