Discovery of a tidal dwarf galaxy in the Leo Triplet

Journal Article · Sat May 10 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/786/2/144· OSTI ID:22356899

Nikiel-Wroczyński, B.; Soida, M.; Urbanik, M. ^[1]

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1. Obserwatorium Astronomiczne Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego ul. Orla 171, 30-244 Kraków (Poland)

We report the discovery of a dwarf galaxy in the Leo Triplet. Analysis of the neutral hydrogen distribution shows that it rotates independently of the tidal tail of NGC 3628, with a radial velocity gradient of 35-40 km s{sup –1} over approximately 13 kpc. The galaxy has an extremely high neutral gas content, accounting for a large amount of its total dynamic mass and suggesting a low amount of dark matter. It is located at the tip of the gaseous tail, which strongly suggests a tidal origin. If this is the case, it would be one of the most confident and nearest (to the Milky Way) detections of a tidal dwarf galaxy and, at the same time, the object most detached from its parent galaxy (≈140 kpc) of this type.

• OSTI ID: 22356899
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Vol. 786, Issue 2; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

79 ASTROPHYSICS
COSMOLOGY AND ASTRONOMY
APPROXIMATIONS
DETECTION
DISTRIBUTION
DWARF STARS
GALAXIES
HYDROGEN
INTERACTIONS
MILKY WAY
NONLUMINOUS MATTER
RADIAL VELOCITY
TRIPLETS