The influence of the cluster environment on the star formation efficiency of 12 Virgo spiral galaxies

Vollmer, B.; Wong, O. I.; Braine, J.; Chung, A.; Kenney, J. D. P.

doi:10.1051/0004-6361/201118690

Cited by 74 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…This result is consistent with the pixel per pixel analysis of resolved, Virgo cluster galaxies done by Vollmer et al (2012b). What is the physical process governing the future evolution of these galaxies?…”

Section: Implications On the Star Formation History Of Cluster Galaxiessupporting

confidence: 88%

Cold gas properties of theHerschelReference Survey

Boselli

Cortese

Boquien

et al. 2014

A&A

176

250

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The Herschel Reference Survey is a complete volume-limited, K-band-selected sample of nearby objects including Virgo cluster and isolated objects. Using a recent compilation of Hi and CO data for this sample we study the effects of the cluster environment on the molecular gas content of spiral galaxies. With the subsample of unperturbed field galaxies, we first identify the stellar mass as the scaling variable that traces the total molecular gas mass of galaxies better. We show that, on average, Hi-deficient galaxies are significantly offset (4σ) from the M(H 2 ) vs. M star relation for Hi-normal galaxies. We use the M(H 2 ) vs. M star scaling relation to define the H 2 -deficiency parameter as the difference, on logarithmic scale, between the expected and observed molecular gas mass for a galaxy of given stellar mass. The H 2 -deficiency parameter shows a weak and scattered relation with the Hi-deficiency parameter, here taken as a proxy for galaxy interactions with the surrounding cluster environment. We also show that, as for the atomic gas, the extent of the molecular disc decreases with increasing Hi-deficiency. All together, these results show that cluster galaxies have, on average, a lower molecular gas content than similar objects in the field. Our analysis indicates that ram pressure stripping is the physical process responsible for this molecular gas deficiency. The slope of the H 2 − de f vs. Hi − de f relation is less than unity, while the D(Hi)/D(i) vs. Hi − de f relation is steeper than the D(CO)/D(i) vs. Hi − de f relation, thereby indicating that the molecular gas is removed less efficiently than the atomic gas. This result can be understood if the atomic gas is distributed on a relatively flat disc that is more extended than the stellar disc. It is thus less anchored to the gravitational potential well of the galaxy than the molecular gas phase, which is distributed on an exponential disc with a scalelength r CO 0.2r 24.5 (g). There is a clear trend between the NUV-i colour index, which is a proxy for the specific star formation activity, and the H 2 -deficiency parameter, which suggests that molecular gas removal quenches the activity of star formation. This causes galaxies migrate from the blue cloud to the green valley and, eventually, to the red sequence. The total gas-consumption timescale of gas deficient cluster galaxies is comparable to that of isolated, unperturbed systems. The total gas depletion timescale determined by considering the recycled fraction is τ gas,R 3.0−3.3 Gyr, which is significantly larger than the typical timescale for total gas removal in a ram pressure stripping process, indicated by recent hydrodynamical simulations to be τ RP 1.5 Gyr. The comparison of these timescales suggests that ram pressure, rather than a simple stop of the infall of pristine gas from the halo, will be the dominant process driving the future evolution of these cluster galaxies.

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Section: Implications On the Star Formation History Of Cluster Galaxiessupporting

confidence: 88%

Cold gas properties of theHerschelReference Survey

Boselli

Cortese

Boquien

et al. 2014

A&A

176

250

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“…The star formation efficiency with respect to the molecular gas is normal in the galactic disks, but it is at least a factor of 2 to 3 lower in the bridge region. This decrease in star formation efficiency is very similar to what is observed in the extraplanar gas of the Virgo spiral galaxy NGC 4438 (Vollmer et al 2012b) and in the interacting galaxies NGC 3226/27 (region 2 in Table 1 of Lisenfeld et al 2008). Whereas this decrease is observed at low molecular gas surface densities (∼10 M ) in NGC 4438 and NGC 3226/27, it occurs at a 3 to 5 times higher molecular gas surface density in the Taffy bridge.…”

Section: The Low Star Formation Efficiency In the Bridgesupporting

confidence: 78%

A dynamical model for the Taffy galaxies UGC 12914/5

Vollmer¹,

Braine²,

Soida³

2012

A&A

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The spectacular head-on collision of the two gas-rich galaxies of the Taffy system, UGC 12914/15, gives us a unique opportunity to study the consequences of a direct ISM-ISM collision. To interpret existing multi-wavelength observations, we made dynamical simulations of the Taffy system including a sticky particle component. To compare simulation snapshots to Hi and CO observations, we assume that the molecular fraction of the gas depends on the square root of the gas volume density. For the comparison of our simulations with observations of polarized radio continuum emission, we calculated the evolution of the 3D large-scale magnetic field for our simulations. The induction equations including the time-dependent gas-velocity fields from the dynamical model were solved for this purpose. Our simulations reproduce the stellar distribution of the primary galaxy, UGC 12914, the prominent Hi and CO gas bridge, the offset between the CO and Hi emission in the bridge, the bridge isovelocity vectors parallel to the bridge, the Hi double-line profiles in the bridge region, the large line-widths (∼200 km s −1 ) in the bridge region, the high field strength of the bridge large-scale regular magnetic field, the projected magnetic field vectors parallel to the bridge and the strong total power radio continuum emission from the bridge. The stellar distribution of the secondary model galaxy is more perturbed than observed. The observed distortion of the Hi envelope of the Taffy system is not reproduced by our simulations which use initially symmetric gas disks. The model allows us to define the bridge region in three dimensions. We estimate the total bridge gas mass (Hi, warm and cold H 2 ) to be 5 to 6× 10 9 M , with a molecular fraction M H 2 /M HI of about unity. Despite the enormous mass of molecular gas in the bridge, very little star formation is present, similar to other systems with extraplanar gas and broad CO lines. The structure of the model gas bridge is bimodal: on kpc-scales there is a dense ( 0.01 M pc −3 ) component with a high velocity dispersion >100 km s −1 and a less dense (∼10 −3 M pc −3 ) component with a smaller, but still high, velocity dispersion ∼50 km s −1 . The synchrotron lifetime of relativistic electrons is only long enough to be consistent with the existence of the radio continuum bridge for the less dense component. On the other hand, only the high-density gas undergoes a high enough mechanical energy input to produce the observed strong emission of warm H 2 . We propose that, despite the high local gas densities, this high input of mechanical energy drives strong turbulence and quenches star formation in the bridge gas except for the giant Hii region near UGC 12915. Our model suggests that we observe this galaxy head-on collision near the time of maximum CO and H 2 emission.

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“…If depletion processes are slow-acting, the sSFR and H i fraction will decrease for an individual galaxy at comparable rates. If they are of moderate speed or fast-acting, the H i fraction will be observed to decrease before sSFR (see Balogh, Navarro & Morris 2000;McCarthy et al 2008;Vollmer et al 2012;Brown et al 2017). One might naïvely except then that at fixed sSFR, satellites would have lower H i fraction than centrals, which would oppose what is observed.…”

Section: Observations and The Full Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physical drivers of galaxies’ cold-gas content: exploring environmental and evolutionary effects with Dark Sage

Stevens

Brown

2017

Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society

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We combine the latest spectrally stacked data of 21-cm emission from the ALFALFA survey with an updated version of the Dark Sage semi-analytic model to investigate the relative contributions of secular and environmental astrophysical processes on shaping the H i fractions and quiescence of galaxies in the local Universe. We calibrate the model to match the observed mean H i fraction of all galaxies as a function of stellar mass. Without consideration of stellar feedback, disc instabilities, and active galactic nuclei, we show how the slope and normalisation of this relation would change significantly. We find Dark Sage can reproduce the relative impact that halo mass is observed to have on satellites' H i fractions and quiescent fraction. However, the model satellites are systematically gas-poor. We discuss how this could be affected by satellite-central cross-contamination from the group-finding algorithm applied to the observed galaxies, but that it is not the full story. From our results, we suggest the anti-correlation between satellites' H i fractions and host halo mass, seen at fixed stellar mass and fixed specific star formation rate, can be attributed almost entirely to ram-pressure stripping of cold gas. Meanwhile, stripping of hot gas from around the satellites drives the correlation of quiescent fraction with halo mass at fixed stellar mass. Further detail in the modelling of galaxy discs' centres is required to solidify this result, however. We contextualise our results with those from other semi-analytic models and hydrodynamic simulations.

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The influence of the cluster environment on the star formation efficiency of 12 Virgo spiral galaxies

Cited by 74 publications

References 82 publications

Cold gas properties of theHerschelReference Survey

Cold gas properties of theHerschelReference Survey

A dynamical model for the Taffy galaxies UGC 12914/5

Physical drivers of galaxies’ cold-gas content: exploring environmental and evolutionary effects with Dark Sage

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