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Register a new userSpectacular HST observations of the Coma galaxy D100 and star formation in its ram pressure stripped tail
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We present new HST F275W, F475W, and F814W imaging of the region of the Coma cluster around D100, a spiral galaxy with a remarkably long and narrow ($60 times 1.5$ kpc) ram pressure stripped gas tail. We find blue sources coincident with the H$alpha$ tail, which we identify as young stars formed in the tail. We also determine they are likely to be unbound stellar complexes with sizes of $sim$ $50-100$ pc, likely to disperse as they age. From a comparison of the colors and magnitudes of the young stellar complexes with simple stellar population models, we find ages ranging from $sim$ $1-50$ Myr, and masses ranging from $10^3$ to $sim$ $10^5$ M$_{odot}$. We find the overall rate and efficiency of star formation are low, $sim$ $6.0 times , 10^{-3}$ $M_{odot}$ yr$^{-1}$ and $sim$ $6 , times$ 10$^{-12}$ yr$^{-1}$ respectively. The total H$alpha$ flux of the tail would correspond to a star formation rate $7$ times higher, indicating some other mechanism for H$alpha$ excitation is dominant. From analysis of colors, we track the progression of outside-in star formation quenching in the main body of D100, as well as its apparent companion the S0 D99. Finally, we observe the dust extinction in the base of the tail has an outer envelope with remarkably smooth and straight edges, and linear filamentary substructure strongly suggestive of magnetic fields. These features and the small amount of tail broadening strongly suggest gas cooling restricting broadening, and the influence of magnetic fields inhibiting turbulence.
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We have discovered large amounts of molecular gas, as traced by CO emission, in the ram pressure stripped gas tail of the Coma cluster galaxy D100 (GMP 2910), out to large distances of about 50 kpc. D100 has a 60 kpc long, strikingly narrow tail which is bright in X-rays and H{alpha}. Our observations with the IRAM 30m telescope reveal in total ~ 10^9 M_sun of H_2 (assuming the standard CO-to-H_2 conversion) in several regions along the tail, thus indicating that molecular gas may dominate its mass. Along the tail we measure a smooth gradient in the radial velocity of the CO emission that is offset to lower values from the more diffuse H{alpha} gas velocities. Such a dynamic separation of phases may be due to their differential acceleration by ram pressure. D100 is likely being stripped at a high orbital velocity >2200 km/s by (nearly) peak ram pressure. Combined effects of ICM viscosity and magnetic fields may be important for the evolution of the stripped ISM. We propose D100 has reached a continuous mode of stripping of dense gas remaining in its nuclear region. D100 is the second known case of an abundant molecular stripped-gas tail, suggesting that conditions in the ICM at the centers of galaxy clusters may be favorable for molecularization. From comparison with other galaxies, we find there is a good correlation between the CO flux and the H{alpha} surface brightness in ram pressure stripped gas tails, over about 2 dex.
For the first time, we reveal large amounts of cold molecular gas in a ram pressure stripped tail, out to a large, intracluster distance from the galaxy. With the APEX telescope we have detected 12CO(2-1) emission corresponding to more than 10^9 Msun of H_2 in three Ha bright regions along the tail of the Norma cluster galaxy ESO 137-001, out to a projected distance of 40 kpc from the disk. ESO 137-001 has an 80 kpc long and bright X-ray tail associated with a shorter (40 kpc) and broader tail of numerous star-forming H II regions. The amount of about 1.5x10^8 Msun of H_2 found in the most distant region is similar to molecular masses of tidal dwarf galaxies, though the standard Galactic CO-to-H_2 factor could overestimate the H_2 content. Along the tail, we find the amount of molecular gas to drop, while masses of the X-ray emitting and diffuse ionized components stay roughly constant. Moreover, the amounts of hot and cold gas are large and similar, and together nearly account for the missing gas from the disk. We find a very low star formation efficiency (tau > 10^10 yr) in the stripped gas in ESO 137-001 and suggest that this is due to a low average gas density in the tail, or turbulent heating of the interstellar medium that is induced by a ram pressure shock. The unprecedented bulk of observed H_2 in the ESO 137-001 tail suggests that some stripped gas may survive ram pressure stripping in the molecular phase.
Previous studies have revealed a population of galaxies in galaxy clusters with ram pressure stripped (RPS) tails of gas and embedded young stars. We observed 1.4 GHz continuum and HI emission with the Very Large Array in its B-configuration in two fields of the Coma cluster to study the radio properties of RPS galaxies. The best continuum sensitivities in the two fields are 6 and 8 $mu$Jy per 4 beam respectively, which are 4 and 3 times deeper than those previously published. Radio continuum tails are found in 10 (8 are new) out of 20 RPS galaxies, unambiguously revealing the presence of relativistic electrons and magnetic fields in the stripped tails. Our results also hint that the tail has a steeper spectrum than the galaxy. The 1.4 GHz continuum in the tails is enhanced relative to their H$alpha$ emission by a factor of $sim$7 compared to the main bodies of the RPS galaxies. The 1.4 GHz continuum of the RPS galaxies is also enhanced relative to their IR emission by a factor of $sim$2 compared to star-forming galaxies. The enhancement is likely related to ram pressure and turbulence in the tail. We furthermore present HI detections in three RPS galaxies and upper limits for the other RPS galaxies. The cold gas in D100s stripped tail is dominated by molecular gas, which is likely a consequence of the high ambient pressure. No evidence of radio emission associated with ultra-diffuse galaxies is found in our data.
We present the first high-resolution map of the cold molecular gas distribution, as traced by CO(2-1) emission with ALMA, in a prominent ram pressure stripped tail. The Norma cluster galaxy ESO 137-001 is undergoing a strong interaction with the surrounding intra-cluster medium and is one of the nearest jellyfish galaxies with a long multi-phase tail. We have mapped the full extent of the tail at 1 (350 pc) angular resolution and found a rich distribution of mostly compact CO regions extending to nearly 60 kpc in length and 25 kpc in width. In total about 10^9 M_sun of molecular gas was detected. The CO features are found predominantly at the heads of numerous small-scale (~ 1.5 kpc) fireballs (i.e., star-forming clouds with linear streams of young stars extending toward the galaxy) but also of large-scale (~ 8 kpc) super-fireballs, and double-sided fireballs that have additional diffuse ionized gas tails extending in the direction opposite to the stellar tails. The new data help to shed light on the origin of the molecular tail - CO filaments oriented in the direction of the tail with only diffuse associated Halpha emission are likely young molecular features formed in situ, whereas other large CO features tilted with respect to the tail may have originated from the densest gas complexes that were pushed gradually away from the disk. The ALMA observations of ESO 137-001, together with observations from HST, Chandra and VLT/MUSE, offer the most complete view of a spectacular ram pressure stripped tail to date.
We investigate the effects of ram pressure on the molecular ISM in the disk of the Coma cluster galaxy NGC 4921, via high resolution CO observations. We present 6 resolution CARMA CO(1-0) observations of the full disk, and 0.4 resolution ALMA CO(2-1) observations of the leading quadrant, where ram pressure is strongest. We find evidence for compression of the dense interstellar medium (ISM) on the leading side, spatially correlated with intense star formation activity in this zone. We also detect molecular gas along kiloparsec-scale filaments of dust extending into the otherwise gas stripped zone of the galaxy, seen in HST images. We find the filaments are connected kinematically as well as spatially to the main gas ridge located downstream, consistent with cloud decoupling inhibited by magnetic binding, and inconsistent with a simulated filament formed via simple ablation. Furthermore, we find several clouds of molecular gas $sim 1-3$ kpc beyond the main ring of CO that have velocities which are blueshifted by up to 50 km s$^{-1}$ with respect to the rotation curve of the galaxy. These are some of the only clouds we detect that do not have any visible dust extinction associated with them, suggesting that they are located behind the galaxy disk midplane and are falling back towards the galaxy. Simulations have long predicted that some gas removed from the galaxy disk will fall back during ram pressure stripping. This may be the first clear observational evidence of gas re-accretion in a ram pressure stripped galaxy.
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