GASP. I. Gas Stripping Phenomena in Galaxies with MUSE

Journal Article · Thu Jul 20 04:00:00 EDT 2017 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/AA78ED· OSTI ID:22876007

Poggianti, Bianca M.; Moretti, Alessia; Gullieuszik, Marco; Bettoni, Daniela; Fasano, Giovanni; Vulcani, Benedetta; Paccagnella, Angela ^[1]; Fritz, Jacopo ^[2]; Jaffé, Yara; Bellhouse, Callum; Hau, George ^[3]; Biviano, Andrea ^[4]; Omizzolo, Alessandro ^[5]; D’Onofrio, Mauro ^[6]; Cava, Antonio ^[7]; Sheen, Y. -K. ^[8]; Couch, Warrick; Owers, Matt ^[9]

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1. INAF—Astronomical Observatory of Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy)
2. Instituto de Radioastronomia y Astrofisica, UNAM, Campus Morelia, A.P. 3-72, C.P. 58089 (Mexico)
3. European Southern Observatory, Alonso de Cordova 3107, Vitacura, Casilla 19001, Santiago de Chile (Chile)
4. INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G.B. Tiepolo 11, I-34131 Trieste (Italy)
5. Vatican Observatory, Vatican City (Vatican City State, Holy See)
6. Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Padova, Vicolo dell’Osservatorio 5, I-35122 Padova (Italy)
7. Observatoire de Geneve, University of Geneve, 51 Ch. des Maillettes, 1290 Versoix (Switzerland)
8. Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, Daejeon, 305-348 (Korea, Republic of)
9. Australian Astronomical Observatory, North Ryde, NSW 1670 (Australia)

GAs Stripping Phenomena in galaxies with MUSE (GASP) is a new integral-field spectroscopic survey with MUSE at the VLT aimed at studying gas removal processes in galaxies. We present an overview of the survey and show a first example of a galaxy undergoing strong gas stripping. GASP is obtaining deep MUSE data for 114 galaxies at z = 0.04–0.07 with stellar masses in the range 10{sup 9.2}--10{sup 11.5} M{sub ⊙} in different environments (galaxy clusters and groups over more than four orders of magnitude in halo mass). GASP targets galaxies with optical signatures of unilateral debris or tails reminiscent of gas-stripping processes (“jellyfish galaxies”), as well as a control sample of disk galaxies with no morphological anomalies. GASP is the only existing integral field unit (IFU) survey covering both the main galaxy body and the outskirts and surroundings, where the IFU data can reveal the presence and origin of the outer gas. To demonstrate GASP’s ability to probe the physics of gas and stars, we show the complete analysis of a textbook case of a jellyfish galaxy, JO206. This is a massive galaxy (9×10{sup 10} M{sub ⊙}) in a low-mass cluster (σ∼500 km s{sup −1}) at a small projected clustercentric radius and a high relative velocity, with ≥90 kpc long tentacles of ionized gas stripped away by ram pressure. We present the spatially resolved kinematics and physical properties of the gas and stars and depict the evolutionary history of this galaxy.

• OSTI ID: 22876007
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 844; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
GALAXY CLUSTERS
INTERGALACTIC SPACE
MASS
REMOVAL
STARS
STRIPPING
VELOCITY