Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2005-09-05
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
4 pages, 2 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the Island Universes conference held in Terschelling, Netherlands, July 20
Scientific paper
We present observations of highly inclined, HI deficient, Virgo cluster spiral galaxies. Our high-resolution VLA HI observations of edge-on galaxies allow us to distinguish extraplanar gas from disk gas. All of our galaxies have truncated H-alpha disks, with little or no disk gas beyond a truncation radius. While all the gas disks are truncated, the observations show evidence for a continuum of stripping states: symmetric, undisturbed truncated gas disks indicate galaxies that were stripped long ago, while more asymmetric disks suggest ongoing or more recent stripping. We compare these timescale estimates with results obtained from two-dimensional stellar spectroscopy of the outer disks of galaxies in our sample. One of the galaxies in our sample, NGC 4522 is a clear example of active ram-pressure stripping, with 40% of its detected HI being extraplanar. As expected, the outer disk stellar populations of this galaxy show clear signs of recent (and, in fact, ongoing) stripping. Somewhat less expected, however, is the fact that the spectrum of the outer disk of this galaxy, with very strong Balmer absorption and no observable emission, would be classified as ``k+a'' if observed at higher redshift. Our observations of NGC 4522 and other galaxies at a range of cluster radii allow us to better understand the role that clusters play in the structure and evolution of disk galaxies.
Crowl Hugh H.
Kenney Jeffrey D. P.
van Gorkom Jacqueline H.
Vollmer Bernd
No associations
LandOfFree
Observations of Stripped Edge-on Virgo Cluster Galaxies does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with Observations of Stripped Edge-on Virgo Cluster Galaxies, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Observations of Stripped Edge-on Virgo Cluster Galaxies will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-375675