Resolving CO (2-1) in z~1.6 Gas-Rich Cluster Galaxies with ALMA: Rotating Molecular Gas Disks with Possible Signatures of Gas Stripping

TL;DR

This study presents the first spatially-resolved ALMA observations of molecular gas in z~1.6 cluster galaxies, revealing rotating gas disks, signs of gas stripping, and differences from field galaxies, advancing understanding of galaxy evolution in dense environments.

Contribution

First to resolve CO (2-1) in multiple high-redshift cluster galaxies, showing rotating disks and potential gas stripping signatures with efficient ALMA multiplexing.

Findings

Detected CO (2-1) in 8 z~1.6 cluster galaxies.

Most galaxies have rotating molecular gas disks.

Evidence suggests gas stripping and differences from field galaxies.

Abstract

We present the first spatially-resolved observations of molecular gas in a sample of cluster galaxies beyond z>0.1. Using ALMA, we detect CO (2-1) in 8 z~1.6 cluster galaxies, all within a single 70" primary beam, in under 3 hours of integration time. The cluster, SpARCS-J0225, is replete with gas-rich galaxies in close proximity. It thus affords an efficient multiplexing strategy to build up the first sample of resolved CO in distant galaxy clusters. Mapping out the kinematic structure and morphology of the molecular gas on 3.5 kpc scales reveals rotating gas disks in the majority of the galaxies, as evidenced by smooth velocity gradients. Detailed velocity maps also uncover kinematic peculiarities, including a central gas void, a merger, and a few one-sided gas tails. We compare the extent of the molecular gas component to that of the optical stellar component, measured with rest-frame optical HST imaging. We find that the cluster galaxies, while broadly consistent with a ratio of unity for stellar-to-gas effective radii, have a moderately larger ratio compared to the coeval field; this is consistent with the more pronounced trend in the low-redshift Universe. Thus, at first glance, the z~1.6 cluster galaxies generally look like galaxies infalling from the field, with typical main-sequence star formation rates and massive molecular gas reservoirs situated in rotating disks. However, there are potentially important differences from their field counterparts, including elevated gas fractions, slightly smaller CO disks, and possible asymmetric gas tails. Taken in tandem, these signatures are tentative evidence for gas-stripping in the z~1.6 cluster. However, the current sample size of spatially-resolved molecular gas in galaxies at high redshift is small, and verification of these trends will require much larger samples of both cluster and field galaxies.