Observational Evidence for the Kinematic Memory of Cosmic Filaments from Satellite Orbital Orientations

Abstract

We present an observational study of the kinematic coherence between satellite orbital planes and the cosmic web. Using the SDSS DR12 galaxy sample combined with the Bisous filament catalogue, we investigate whether the orbital motion of satellites preserves the memory of filamentary accretion. For each satellite system, we define a projected orbital-normal vector using galaxy sky positions and line-of-sight velocity offsets. By measuring the angle $θ$ between this vector and the local projected filament direction, we detect a distinctive preferred orientation: satellite orbital planes tend to contain or lie parallel to the filament axis. This signal deviates from the isotropic expectation at a high significance level of $12.8σ$. The strength of this kinematic connection depend strongly on environment and host properties. The preference for orbital planes to track the filament direction is most pronounced for groups in close distance to the filament spine and for more massive hosts. Conversely, at intermediate distances from the filament and at large group-centric radii, the signal reverses, indicating a tendency for orbital planes to be oriented perpendicular to the filament. Our findings provide direct observational evidence for the two-phase model of filamentary accretion, where a transition from initial perpendicular collapse toward the filament spine to subsequent parallel streamwise infall into dark matter haloes governs the orientation of satellite orbital angular momentum and galaxy spin. The observed transition may further trace the characteristic radial scale of filaments, offering a dynamical perspective on the internal structure and assembly of the cosmic filament.