WITNESSING GAS MIXING IN THE METAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE HICKSON COMPACT GROUP HCG 31
- Departamento de Física, Universidad de La Serena, Av. Cisternas 1200, La Serena (Chile)
- Instituto de Astronomia, Geofísica e Ciências Atmosféricas da Universidade de São Paulo, Cidade Universitária, CEP:05508-900, São Paulo, SP (Brazil)
- Aix Marseille Université, CNRS, LAM (Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille) UMR 7326, F-13388, Marseille (France)
- Gemini Observatory/AURA, Southern Operations Center, Casilla 603, La Serena (Chile)
We present for the first time direct evidence that in a merger of disk galaxies, the pre-existing central metallicities will mix as a result of gas being transported in the merger interface region along the line that joins the two coalescing nuclei. This is shown using detailed two-dimensional kinematics as well as metallicity measurements for the nearby ongoing merger in the center of the compact group HCG 31. We focus on the emission line gas, which is extensive in the system. The two coalescing cores display similar oxygen abundances. While in between the two nuclei, the metallicity changes smoothly from one nucleus to the other indicating a mix of metals in this region, which is confirmed by the high-resolution Hα kinematics (R = 45,900). This nearby system is especially important because it involves the merging of two fairly low-mass and clumpy galaxies (LMC-like galaxies), making it an important system for comparison with high-redshift galaxies.
- OSTI ID:
- 22364714
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 798, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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