Star formation in shocked cluster spirals and their tails

Roediger, E.; Brüggen, M.; Owers, M. S.; Ebeling, H.; Sun, M.

Abstract

Recent observations of ram pressure stripped spiral galaxies in clusters revealed details of the stripping process, i.e., the truncation of all interstellar medium (ISM) phases and of star formation (SF) in the disk, and multiphase star-forming tails. Some stripped galaxies, in particular in merging clusters, develop spectacular star-forming tails, giving them a jellyfish-like appearance. In merging clusters, merger shocks in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) are thought to have overrun these galaxies, enhancing the ambient ICM pressure and thus triggering SF, gas stripping and tail formation. We present idealised hydrodynamical simulations of this scenario, including standard descriptions for SF and stellar feedback. To aid the interpretation of recent and upcoming observations, we focus on particular structures and dynamics in SF patterns in the remaining gas disk and in the near tails, which are easiest to observe. The observed jellyfish morphology is qualitatively reproduced for, both, face-on and edge-on stripping. In edge-on stripping, the interplay between the ICM wind and the disk rotation leads to asymmetries along the ICM wind direction and perpendicular to it. The apparent tail is still part of a highly deformed gaseous and young stellar disk. In both geometries, SF takes place in knots throughout the tail, such that the stars in the tails show no ordered age gradients. Significant SF enhancement in the disk occurs only at radii where the gas will be stripped in due course.

Citation

Roediger, E., Brüggen, M., Owers, M. S., Ebeling, H., & Sun, M. (2014). Star formation in shocked cluster spirals and their tails. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Letters, 443(1), L114-L118. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu087

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 3, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Jul 16, 2014
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Mar 2, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 2, 2016
• Journal: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-3925
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 443
• Issue: 1
• Pages: L114-L118
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu087
• Keywords: ISM : general; Galaxies : clusters : general; Galaxies : evolution; Galaxies : ISM; Galaxies : star formation
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/412025
• Publisher URL: http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/443/1/L114
• Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2014 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.