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A 0.6 Mpc H i structure associated with Stephan’s Quintet

Xu, C. K. LU ; Cheng, C. ; Appleton, P. N. ; Duc, P. A. ; Gao, Y. ; Tang, N. Y. ; Yun, M. ; Dai, Y. S. ; Huang, J. S. and Lisenfeld, U. , et al. (2022) In Nature 610(7932). p.461-466
Abstract

Stephan’s Quintet (SQ, co-moving radial distance = 85 ± 6 Mpc, taken from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)1) is unique among compact groups of galaxies2–12. Observations have previously shown that interactions between multiple members, including a high-speed intruder galaxy currently colliding into the intragroup medium, have probably generated tidal debris in the form of multiple gaseous and stellar filaments6,8,13, the formation of tidal dwarfs7,14,15 and intragroup-medium starbursts16, as well as widespread intergalactic shocked gas5,10,11,17. The details and timing of the interactions and collisions remain poorly understood because of their multiple... (More)

Stephan’s Quintet (SQ, co-moving radial distance = 85 ± 6 Mpc, taken from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)1) is unique among compact groups of galaxies2–12. Observations have previously shown that interactions between multiple members, including a high-speed intruder galaxy currently colliding into the intragroup medium, have probably generated tidal debris in the form of multiple gaseous and stellar filaments6,8,13, the formation of tidal dwarfs7,14,15 and intragroup-medium starbursts16, as well as widespread intergalactic shocked gas5,10,11,17. The details and timing of the interactions and collisions remain poorly understood because of their multiple nature18,19. Here we report atomic hydrogen (H i) observations in the vicinity of SQ with a smoothed sensitivity of 1σ = 4.2 × 1016 cm−2 per channel (velocity bin-width Δv = 20 km s−1; angular resolution = 4′), which are about two orders of magnitude deeper than previous observations8,13,20,21. The data show a large H i structure (with linear scale of around 0.6 Mpc) encompassing an extended source of size approximately 0.4 Mpc associated with the debris field and a curved diffuse feature of length around 0.5 Mpc attached to the south edge of the extended source. The diffuse feature was probably produced by tidal interactions in early stages of the formation of SQ (>1 Gyr ago), although it is not clear how the low-density H i gas (NH i≲ 1018 cm−2) can survive the ionization by the intergalactic ultraviolet background on such a long time scale. Our observations require a rethinking of properties of gas in outer parts of galaxy groups and demand complex modelling of different phases of the intragroup medium in simulations of group formation.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Nature
volume
610
issue
7932
pages
6 pages
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:36261547
  • scopus:85140233291
ISSN
0028-0836
DOI
10.1038/s41586-022-05206-x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a8d89e5c-54a4-40e1-bb64-72937c388596
date added to LUP
2022-12-13 12:21:37
date last changed
2024-04-18 16:22:59
@article{a8d89e5c-54a4-40e1-bb64-72937c388596,
  abstract     = {{<p>Stephan’s Quintet (SQ, co-moving radial distance = 85 ± 6 Mpc, taken from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED)<sup>1</sup>) is unique among compact groups of galaxies<sup>2–12</sup>. Observations have previously shown that interactions between multiple members, including a high-speed intruder galaxy currently colliding into the intragroup medium, have probably generated tidal debris in the form of multiple gaseous and stellar filaments<sup>6,8,13</sup>, the formation of tidal dwarfs<sup>7,14,15</sup> and intragroup-medium starbursts<sup>16</sup>, as well as widespread intergalactic shocked gas<sup>5,10,11,17</sup>. The details and timing of the interactions and collisions remain poorly understood because of their multiple nature<sup>18,19</sup>. Here we report atomic hydrogen (H i) observations in the vicinity of SQ with a smoothed sensitivity of 1σ = 4.2 × 10<sup>16</sup> cm<sup>−2</sup> per channel (velocity bin-width Δv = 20 km s<sup>−1</sup>; angular resolution = 4′), which are about two orders of magnitude deeper than previous observations<sup>8,13,20,21</sup>. The data show a large H i structure (with linear scale of around 0.6 Mpc) encompassing an extended source of size approximately 0.4 Mpc associated with the debris field and a curved diffuse feature of length around 0.5 Mpc attached to the south edge of the extended source. The diffuse feature was probably produced by tidal interactions in early stages of the formation of SQ (&gt;1 Gyr ago), although it is not clear how the low-density H i gas (N<sub>H i</sub>≲ 10<sup>18</sup> cm<sup>−2</sup>) can survive the ionization by the intergalactic ultraviolet background on such a long time scale. Our observations require a rethinking of properties of gas in outer parts of galaxy groups and demand complex modelling of different phases of the intragroup medium in simulations of group formation.</p>}},
  author       = {{Xu, C. K. and Cheng, C. and Appleton, P. N. and Duc, P. A. and Gao, Y. and Tang, N. Y. and Yun, M. and Dai, Y. S. and Huang, J. S. and Lisenfeld, U. and Renaud, F.}},
  issn         = {{0028-0836}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{7932}},
  pages        = {{461--466}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Nature}},
  title        = {{A 0.6 Mpc H i structure associated with Stephan’s Quintet}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05206-x}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/s41586-022-05206-x}},
  volume       = {{610}},
  year         = {{2022}},
}