THE DISRUPTION AND FUELING OF M33

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/703/2/1486· OSTI ID:21371886

Putman, M E ^[1]; Peek, J E. G. ^[2]; Muratov, A; Gnedin, O Y; Hsu, W; Heiles, C ^[3]; Douglas, K A; Korpela, E J ^[4]; Stanimirovic, S ^[5]; Gibson, S J ^[6]

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1. Department of Astronomy, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027 (United States)
2. Astronomy Department, University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720-3411 (United States)
3. Department of Astronomy, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1042 (United States)
4. Space Sciences Laboratory, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)
5. Department of Astronomy, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Madison, WI 53706-1582 (United States)
6. Arecibo Observatory, National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, Arecibo, PR 00612 (United States)

The disruption of the M33 galaxy is evident from its extended gaseous structure. We present new data from the Galactic Arecibo L-Band Feed Array H I (GALFA-H I) Survey that show the full extent and detailed spatial and kinematic structure of M33's neutral hydrogen. Over 18% of the H I mass of M33 (M{sub HI{sub t{sub o{sub t}}}}=1.4x10{sup 9} M {sub sun}) is found beyond the star-forming disk as traced in the far-ultraviolet (FUV). The most distinct features are extended warps, an arc from the northern warp to the disk, diffuse gas surrounding the galaxy, and a southern cloud with a filament back to the galaxy. The features extend out to 22 kpc from the galaxy center (18 kpc from the edge of the FUV disk), and the gas is directly connected to M33's disk. Only five discrete clouds (i.e., gas not directly connected to M33 in position-velocity space) are cataloged in the vicinity of M33, and these clouds show similar properties to Galactic and M31 halo clouds. M33's gaseous features most likely originate from the tidal disruption of M33 by M31 1-3 Gyr ago as shown by an orbit analysis which results in a tidal radius <15 kpc in the majority of M33's possible orbits. M33 is now beyond the disruptive gravitational influence of M31, and the gas appears to be returning to M33's disk and redistributing its star formation fuel. M33's high mean velocity dispersion in the disk (approx18.5 km s{sup -1}) may also be consistent with the previous interaction and high rate of star formation. M33 will either exhaust its star formation fuel in the next few Gyrs or eventually become star formation fuel for M31. The latter represents the accretion of a large gaseous satellite by a spiral galaxy, similar to the Magellanic Clouds' relationship to the Galaxy.

• OSTI ID: 21371886
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 703; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
EVOLUTION
FAR ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
HYDROGEN
MAGELLANIC CLOUDS
NONMETALS
ORBITS
RADIATIONS
SATELLITES
STARS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION
VELOCITY