Journal article
Young, Blue, and Isolated Stellar Systems in the Virgo Cluster. II. A New Class of Stellar System
The Astrophysical journal, Vol.935(1), p.51
08/01/2022
DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/ac7c6c
Abstract
We discuss five blue stellar systems in the direction of the Virgo cluster, analogous to the enigmatic object SECCO 1 (AGC 226067). These objects were identified based on their optical and UV morphology and followed up with H I observations with the Very Large Array (and Green Bank Telescope), Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (on the Very Large Telescope) optical spectroscopy, and Hubble Space Telescope imaging. These new data indicate that one system is a distant group of galaxies. The remaining four are extremely low mass (M-* similar to 10(5) M-circle dot), are dominated by young blue stars, have highly irregular and clumpy morphologies, are only a few kiloparsecs across, yet host an abundance of metal-rich, 12 + log(O/H) > 8.2, H II regions. These high metallicities indicate that these stellar systems formed from gas stripped from much more massive galaxies. Despite the young age of their stellar populations, only one system is detected in H I, while the remaining three have minimal (if any) gas reservoirs. Furthermore, two systems are surprisingly isolated and have no plausible parent galaxy within similar to 30' (similar to 140 kpc). Although tidal stripping cannot be conclusively excluded as the formation mechanism of these objects, ram pressure stripping more naturally explains their properties, in particular their isolation, owing to the higher velocities, relative to the parent system, that can be achieved. Therefore, we posit that most of these systems formed from ram-pressure-stripped gas removed from new infalling cluster members and survived in the intracluster medium long enough to become separated from their parent galaxies by hundreds of kiloparsecs and that they thus represent a new type of stellar system.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Young, Blue, and Isolated Stellar Systems in the Virgo Cluster. II. A New Class of Stellar System
- Creators
- Michael G. Jones - University of ArizonaDavid J. Sand - University of ArizonaMichele Bellazzini - INAF Osservatorio Astrofis & Sci Spazio Bologna, Via Gobetti 93-3, I-40129 Bologna, ItalyKristine Spekkens - Royal Military College of CanadaAnanthan Karunakaran - Instituto de Astrofísica de AndalucíaElizabeth A. K. Adams - Netherlands Institute for Radio AstronomyGiuseppina Battaglia - Instituto de Astrofísica de CanariasGiacomo Beccari - European Southern ObservatoryPaul Bennet - Space Telescope Science InstituteJohn M. Cannon - Macalester CollegeGiovanni Cresci - Arcetri Astrophysical ObservatoryDenija Crnojevic - University of TampaNelson Caldwell - Center for Astrophysics Harvard & SmithsonianJackson Fuson - Macalester CollegePuragra Guhathakurta - University of California, Santa CruzMartha P. Haynes - Cornell UniversityJohn L. Inoue - Macalester CollegeLaura Magrini - Arcetri Astrophysical ObservatoryRicardo R. Munoz - University of ChileBurcin Mutlu-Pakdil - University of ChicagoAnil Seth - University of UtahJay Strader - Michigan State UniversityElisa Toloba - University of the PacificDennis Zaritsky - University of Arizona
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- The Astrophysical journal, Vol.935(1), p.51
- Publisher
- IOP Publishing Ltd
- DOI
- 10.3847/1538-4357/ac7c6c
- ISSN
- 0004-637X
- eISSN
- 1538-4357
- Number of pages
- 24
- Grant note
- Packard Foundation; The David & Lucile Packard Foundation NAS5-26555 / NASA; National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) WISE research program - Dutch Research Council (NWO) 1.05.01.86.28 / INAF Main Stream grant Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) AYA2017-89076-P / AEI/FEDER, UE Consejeria de Economia, Industria, Comercio y Conocimiento of the Canary Islands Autonomous Community AST2001663 / NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellowship; National Science Foundation (NSF) Brinson Foundation POSTDOC_21_00845 / Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities from the budgetary program 54a Scientific Research and Innovation of the Economic Transformation, Industry, Knowledge and Universities Council of the Regional Government of Andalusia AST1821967; 1813708; AST-1814208 / NSF; National Science Foundation (NSF) HST-GO-15183 / NASA through Space Telescope Science Institute; Space Telescope Science Institute FB210003 / ANID BASAL project Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades; Spanish Government 0101.B-0376A / European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere under ESO program SEV-2017-0709 / State Agency for Research of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the "Center of Excellence Severo Ochoa"
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 08/01/2022
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy
- Record Identifier
- 9984627220802771
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