The HI Content of Red Geyser Galaxies

TL;DR

This study investigates the neutral hydrogen content of red geyser galaxies using stacking of 21-cm HI data, finding no significant difference compared to similar quiescent galaxies, which informs understanding of their jet-driven feedback.

Contribution

It introduces a stacking method for HI data analysis in red geysers and compares their gas content to other quiescent galaxies, revealing no significant HI difference.

Findings

Red geysers have an average G/S of 0.086.

Non-red geyser galaxies have a G/S of 0.039.

No significant HI content difference between red geysers and similar galaxies.

Abstract

Red geysers are a specific type of quiescent galaxy, denoted by twin jets emerging from their galactic centers. These bisymmetric jets possibly inject energy and heat into the surrounding material, effectively suppressing star formation by stabilizing cool gas. In order to confirm the presence and evolutionary consequences of these jets, this paper discusses the scaling, stacking, and conversion of 21-cm HI flux data sourced from the HI-MaNGA survey into HI gas-to-stellar mass (G/S) spectra. Our samples were dominated by non-detections, or galaxies with weak HI signals, and consequently by HI upper limits. The stacking technique discussed successfully resolved emission features in both the red geyser G/S spectrum and the control sample G/S spectrum. From these stacked spectra, we find that on average, red geyser galaxies have G/S of 0.086 $\pm$ 0.011(random)+0.029(systematic), while non-red geyser galaxies of similar stellar mass have a G/S ratio of 0.039 $\pm$ 0.018(random)+0.013(systematic). Therefore, we find no statistically significant evidence that the HI content of red geysers is different from the general quiescent population.