Ram pressure stripping: An analytical approach

TL;DR

This paper presents an analytical model to study ram pressure stripping across different galaxy environments, revealing how galaxy properties and halo types influence gas loss and star formation.

Contribution

It introduces a simplified analytical framework for ram pressure stripping, analyzing effects across various galaxy types, halo environments, and redshifts, highlighting key factors affecting gas removal.

Findings

Higher spin parameter galaxies lose gas more quickly.

Cluster halos facilitate more efficient gas stripping than groups or individual galaxies.

Redshift has minimal impact on the maximum ram pressure effect.

Abstract

We use an analytical approach to study ram pressure stripping with simple models for discs and halo gas distribution to study the phenomena in cluster, group and galaxy halos. We also study variations with galaxy properties and redshift. In each case we model the worst case scenario (i.e., maximum effect due to ram pressure). We show that there is little variation in the worst case scenario with redshift. We find that gas discs in galaxies with a higher spin parameter get stripped sooner than galaxies with a smaller spin parameter. Galaxies in cluster halos get stripped of gas more effciently as compared to group and galaxy halos: this is due to the higher infall speed and a higher density of gas in the ICM due to a greater retention of baryons. We comment on the limitations of our model and situations where a signiffcant amount of gas may be retained in galaxy disc and also give an illustration for the same. Lastly, we discuss implications for star formation in galaxies as these fall into halos.