Journal article
Catching Tidal Dwarf Galaxies at a Later Evolutionary Stage with ALFALFA
The Astronomical journal, Vol.165(5), p.197
05/01/2023
DOI: 10.3847/1538-3881/acc4c6
Abstract
We present deep optical imaging and photometry of four objects classified as "Almost-Dark" galaxies in the Arecibo Legacy Fast Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFALFA) survey because of their gas-rich nature and extremely faint or missing optical emission in existing catalogs. They have H I masses of 10(7) -10(9) M-circle dot and distances of similar to 9-100 Mpc. Observations with the WIYN 3.5 m telescope and One Degree Imager reveal faint stellar components with central surface brightnesses of similar to 24-25 mag arcsec(-2) in the g band. We also present the results of H I synthesis observations with the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. These Almost-Dark galaxies have been identified as possible tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) based on their proximity to one or more massive galaxies. We demonstrate that AGC 229398 and AGC 333576 likely have the low dark matter content and large effective radii representative of TDGs. They are located much farther from their progenitors than previously studied TDGs, suggesting they are older and more evolved. AGC 219369 is likely dark matter dominated, while AGC 123216 has a dark matter content that is unusually high for a TDG, but low for a normal dwarf galaxy. We consider possible mechanisms for the formation of the TDG candidates such as a traditional major merger scenario and gas ejection from a high-velocity flyby. Blind H I surveys like ALFALFA enable the detection of gas-rich, optically faint TDGs that can be overlooked in other surveys, thereby providing a more complete census of the low-mass galaxy population and an opportunity to study TDGs at a more advanced stage of their life cycle.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Catching Tidal Dwarf Galaxies at a Later Evolutionary Stage with ALFALFA
- Creators
- Laurin M. Gray - Indiana University BloomingtonKatherine L. Rhode - Indiana University BloomingtonLukas Leisman - University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignPavel E. Mancera Pina - Leiden UniversityJohn M. Cannon - Macalester CollegeJohn J. Salzer - Indiana University BloomingtonLexi Gault - Indiana University BloomingtonJackson Fuson - Macalester CollegeGyula I. G. Jozsa - Rhodes UniversityElizabeth A. K. Adams - Netherlands Institute for Radio AstronomyNicholas J. Smith - Indiana University BloomingtonMartha P. Haynes - Cornell UniversitySteven Janowiecki - Univ Texas, Hobby Eberly Telescope, McDonald Observ, Ft Davis, TX 79734 USAHannah J. Pagel - Indiana University Bloomington
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Astronomical journal, Vol.165(5), p.197
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing Ltd
- DOI
- 10.3847/1538-3881/acc4c6
- ISSN
- 0004-6256
- eISSN
- 1538-3881
- Number of pages
- 29
- Grant note
- AST-2009894; AST-1615483; AST-2045369 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) Center for High-Performance Computing at the University of Utah WISE research program - Dutch Research Council (NWO) Indiana Space Grant Consortium National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science; United States Department of Energy (DOE) Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Brinson Foundation Indiana University (IU) College of Arts and Sciences
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 05/01/2023
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984627333302771
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