Jellyfish: Resolving the kinematics of extreme ram-pressure stripping at $z\sim0.3$

TL;DR

This study provides the first spatially resolved kinematic analysis of ram-pressure stripping in a massive galaxy at intermediate redshift, revealing the physical mechanisms and galaxy dynamics involved.

Contribution

It offers novel spatially resolved kinematic data confirming ram-pressure stripping as the cause of observed galaxy morphology and star formation at z~0.3.

Findings

Extended [O II] emission up to 40 kpc downstream

Ordered radial-velocity field consistent with angular momentum conservation

No significant nuclear activity detected

Abstract

We present and discuss results from the first spatially resolved kinematic study of ram-pressure stripping of a massive late-type galaxy at intermediate redshifts. Our target, the spectacular "jellyfish" galaxy A1758N\_JFG1, was previously identified as a fast-moving member of the equal-mass merger A1758N ($z=0.28$) with a star-formation rate of 48 M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$, far above the galaxy main sequence. IFU data obtained by us unambiguously confirm ram-pressure stripping as the physical mechanism driving the optical morphology and high star-formation rate of this system by revealing extended [\ion{O}{2}]$\lambda$3727\AA\ emission up to 40 kpc (in projection) downstream, as well as an ordered radial-velocity field generated by (a) conservation of angular momentum of the interstellar gas stripped from the edge of the galactic disk and (b) drag forces exerted by the intra-cluster medium on the "tentacles" of stripped material. We find no evidence of significant nuclear activity in A1758N\_JFG1, although an AGN might, at this early stage of the stripping process, be obscured by high column densities of gas and dust near the galactic core. Finally, our exploration of possible trajectories of A1758N\_JFG1 found solutions consistent with the notions (a) that the A1758N merger proceeds along an axis that is substantially inclined with respect to the plane of the sky and (b) that A1758N\_JFG1 participated in the merger, rather than having been accreted independently from the field.