The cold gas content of post-starburst galaxies

TL;DR

This study investigates the cold gas content of post-starburst galaxies, revealing that about half contain significant HI gas, which sheds light on their transitional nature between star-forming and quiescent galaxies.

Contribution

First systematic measurement of HI gas in a sample of post-starburst galaxies, providing insights into their gas content and evolutionary status.

Findings

Approximately 50% of studied E+A galaxies have detectable HI gas.

Gas fractions range from 1% to 10% of stellar mass.

Gas fractions are higher than in early-type galaxies but lower than in late-type galaxies.

Abstract

Post-starburst galaxies, or E+A galaxies, are characterized by optical spectra showing strong Balmer absorption lines, indicating a young stellar population, and little or no emission lines, implying no active star formation. These galaxies are interpreted as a transitional population between star-forming, disk-dominated galaxies and spheroidal quiescent, non-star forming galaxies. Here, we present single dish HI 21-cm emission line measurements of a sample of eleven of these galaxies at redshifts z<0.05. We detect H I emission in six of the E+A galaxies. In combination with earlier studies, the total number of E+A galaxies with measured cold gas components is now eleven. Roughly half of the E+As studied so far have detectable HI. The gas fractions of these galaxies, measured with respect to their stellar mass, are between 1 and 10 percent and are at the high end of the gas fractions measured in gas-bearing early type galaxies and typically lower than seen in late-type galaxies with comparable stellar masses. This finding is consistent with the idea that E+As are currently evolving from the blue cloud to the red sequence. However, the question of why the star formation has ceased in these galaxies while a significant gas reservoir is still present can only be answered by higher spatial resolution observations of the cold gas.