SDSS-IV MaNGA: The Nature of an Off-galaxy H α Blob—A Multiwavelength View of Offset Cooling in a Merging Galaxy Group

• Published in: The Astrophysical journal 2020-11, Vol.903 (1), p.16
• Main Authors: Pan 潘, Hsi-An 璽安, Lin, Lihwai, Hsieh, Bau-Ching, Michałowski, Michał J., Bothwell, Matthew S., Huang, Song, Moiseev, Alexei V., Oparin, Dmitry, O’Sullivan, Ewan, M. Worrall, Diana, Sánchez, Sebastián F., Gwyn, Stephen, Law, David R., Stark, David V., Bizyaev, Dmitry, Li, Cheng, Lee, Chien-Hsiu, Fu, Hai, Belfiore, Francesco, Bundy, Kevin, Fernández-Trincado, José G., Gelfand, Joseph, Peirani, Sébastien
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Active galactic nuclei; Astrophysics; Carbon monoxide; Cooling; Galactic clusters; Galaxies; Molecular gases; Ram pressure; Sciences of the Universe; Stars & galaxies
• ISSN: 0004-637X; 1538-4357
• DOI: 10.3847/1538-4357/abb80c

Galaxies in dense environments, such as groups and clusters, experience various processes by which galaxies gain and lose gas. Using data from the SDSS-IV MaNGA survey, we previously reported the discovery of a giant (6—8 kpc in diameter) H α blob, Totoro, about 8 kpc away from a pair of galaxies (Satsuki and Mei) residing in a galaxy group that is experiencing a group–group merger. Here, we combine interferometric 12 CO(1–0) molecular gas data, new wide-field H α , u -band data, and published X-ray data to determine the origin of the blob. Several scenarios are discussed to account for its multiwavelength properties, including (1) H α gas being stripped from the galaxy Satsuki by ram pressure, (2) a separated low-surface-brightness galaxy, (3) gas being ejected or ionized by an active galactic nucleus (AGN), and (4) a cooling intragroup medium (IGM). Scenarios (1) and (2) are less favored by the present data. Scenario (3) is also less likely as there is no evidence for an active ongoing AGN in the host galaxy. We find that the CO (cold) and H α (warm) gas coexist with X-ray (hot) structures; moreover, the derived cooling time is within the regime where molecular and H α gas are expected. The coexistence of gas with different temperatures also agrees with that of cooling gas in other systems. Our multiwavelength results strongly suggest that the CO and H α gas are the product of cooling from the IGM at its current location, i.e., cooling has occurred, and may be ongoing, well outside the host-galaxy core.