The HI properties of galaxies in the Coma I cloud revisited

TL;DR

This study investigates the neutral hydrogen (HI) properties of galaxies in the Coma I cloud to assess if pre-processing affects galaxy evolution in nearby large structures, finding no significant HI deficiency.

Contribution

It provides new evidence that pre-processing in high-velocity, loose galaxy groups like Coma I does not significantly alter HI content in late-type galaxies.

Findings

Galaxies in Coma I are not HI deficient.

Pre-processing effects are minimal in high-velocity, loose structures.

Galaxy evolution in such environments remains largely unaffected.

Abstract

Pre-processing within small groups has been proposed to explain several of the properties of galaxies inhabiting rich clusters. The aim of the present work is to see whether pre-processing is acting in the nearby universe, where the structures that are merging to form rich clusters are rather large and massive. We study the HI gas properties of a large sample of late-type galaxies belonging to the Coma I cloud, an association of objects close to the Virgo cluster. Contrary to what previously claimed, late-type galaxies in the Coma I cloud are not deficient in HI gas (HI-def=0.06+-0.44). If the Coma I cloud is representative of infalling groups in nearby clusters, this result suggests that, in the local universe, the evolution of late-type galaxies belonging to loose structures with high velocity dispersions (>= 300 km/s)associated to rich clusters such as Virgo is not significantly perturbed by pre-processing.