Kinematic and metallicity properties od the Aquarius dwarf galaxy from FORS2 MXU spectroscopy

TL;DR

This study investigates the internal kinematic and metallicity properties of the isolated Aquarius dwarf galaxy using spectroscopic data, revealing complex rotation patterns, metallicity gradients, and differences between stellar and gas components.

Contribution

It provides new detailed measurements of the kinematics and metallicity of RGB stars in Aquarius, doubling previous sample sizes and highlighting potential recent accretion events.

Findings

Detected a systemic velocity of -142.2 km/s consistent with previous data.

Identified a rotation gradient aligned with the galaxy's major axis.

Found a possible negative metallicity gradient and colder metal-rich stellar component.

Abstract

Dwarf galaxies found in isolation in the Local Group (LG) are unlikely to have interacted with the large LG spirals, and therefore environmental effects should not be the main drivers of their evolution. We aim to provide insight into the internal mechanisms shaping LG dwarf galaxies by increasing our knowledge of the internal properties of isolated systems. We focus on the evolved stellar component of the Aquarius dwarf, whose kinematic and metallicity properties have only recently started to be explored. We have obtained spectroscopic data in the the near-infrared CaII triplet lines region with FORS2 at the Very Large Telescope for 53 red giant branch (RGB) stars, to derive line-of-sight velocities and [Fe/H] of the individual RGB stars. We have derived a systemic velocity of $-142.2^{+1.8}_{-1.8}$ km s$^{-1}$, in agreement with previous measurements from both the HI gas and stars. The internal kinematics of Aquarius appears to be best modelled by a combination of random motions (l.o.s. velocity dispersion of $10.3^{+1.6}_{-1.3}$ km s$^{-1}$) and linear rotation (with a gradient $-5.0^{+1.6}_{-1.9}$ km s$^{-1}$ arcmin$^{-1}$) along a P.A.=$139_{-27}^{+17}$ deg, consistent with the optical projected major axis. This rotation signal is significantly misaligned or even counter-rotating to that derived from the HI gas. We also find the tentative presence of a mild negative metallicity gradient and indications that the metal-rich stars have a colder velocity dispersion than the metal-poor ones. This work represents a significant improvement with respect to previous measurements of the RGB stars of Aquarius, as it doubles the number of member stars studied in the literature. We speculate that the misaligned rotation between the HI gas and evolved stellar component might have been the result of recent accretion of HI gas or re-accretion after gas-loss due to internal stellar feedback.