Galaxy cluster mergers as triggers for the formation of jellyfish galaxies: case study of the A901/2 system

Autor(es)

Ruggiero, Rafael ^[1] ; Machado, Rubens E. G. ^[2] ; Roman-Oliveira, Fernanda V. ^[3] ; Chies-Santos, Ana L. ^[3] ; Lima Neto, Gastao B. ^[1] ; Doubrawa, Lia ^[2] ; Rodriguez del Pino, Bruno ^[4]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Astron Geofis & Ciencias Atmosfer, R Matao 1226, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Tecnol Fed Parana, Dept Acad Fis, Rua Sete Setentbro 3165, BR-80230901 Curitiba, Parana - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Inst Fis, Dept Astron, Ave Bento Goncalves 9500, BR-91501970 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[4] CSIC INTA, Ctr Astrobiol, E-28850 Madrid - Spain

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society; v. 484, n. 1, p. 906-914, MAR 2019.
• Citações Web of Science: 2

Resumo

The A901/2 system is a rare case of galaxy cluster interaction, in which two galaxy clusters and two smaller groups are seen in route of collision with each other simultaneously. Within each of the four substructures, several galaxies with features indicative of jellyfish morphologies have been observed. In this paper, we propose a hydrodynamic model for the merger as a whole, compatible with its diffuse X-ray emission, and correlate the gas properties in this model with the locations of the jellyfish galaxy candidates in the real system. We find that jellyfish galaxies seem to be preferentially located near a boundary inside each subcluster where diffuse gas moving along with the subcluster and diffuse gas from the remainder of the system meet. The velocity change in those boundaries is such that a factor of up to similar to 1000 increase in the ram pressure takes place within a few hundred kpc, which could trigger the high rate of gas loss necessary for a jellyfish morphology to emerge. A theoretical treatment of ram pressure stripping in the environment of galaxy cluster mergers has not been presented in the literature so far; we propose that this could be a common scenario for the formation of jellyfish morphologies in such systems. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 09/54006-4 - Um cluster de computadores para o Departamento de Astronomia do IAG-USP e para o Núcleo de Astrofísica da UNICSUL
• Beneficiário: Elisabete Maria de Gouveia Dal Pino
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa Equipamentos Multiusuários
• Processo FAPESP: 18/17543-0 - Astrofísica de grupos e aglomerados de galáxias: observações e simulações
• Beneficiário: Gastão Cesar Bierrenbach Lima Neto
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Regular