Tidal stripping removes satellite material outside the tidal radius. The resulting mass loss weakens dynamical friction and can greatly delay or prevent a merger.
A tidal tail is an elongated stream of material removed by a differential gravitational field. A satellite generally produces one leading and one trailing tail as stripped material enters nearby orbits with slightly different energy and angular momentum.
Dynamical-friction stalling by tidal stripping occurs when inward motion shrinks a satellite's tidal radius so rapidly that its remaining mass and frictional drag tend to zero before it reaches the host center.
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