Galaxy interactions in void substructures: Morphology and stellar populations of two triplets from CAVITY

TL;DR

This study investigates how galaxy interactions within void triplets influence their morphology and stellar populations, revealing that even in underdense environments, local interactions significantly impact galaxy evolution.

Contribution

It provides detailed analysis of six galaxies in two void triplets using integral-field spectroscopy, highlighting the role of interactions in galaxy evolution in cosmic voids.

Findings

CAVITY5273X is a massive quenched galaxy with an active nucleus.

VGS31 galaxies are dominated by young stellar populations.

Interactions lead to disturbed morphologies and recent mass growth.

Abstract

Context. Cosmic voids are underdense regions of the Universe that provide a unique environment to study galaxy evolution in relative isolation. Galaxy triplets in voids are rare systems where local interactions may strongly influence galaxy properties. Aims. We study the stellar populations, morphologies, mass assembly histories, and dynamical properties of six galaxies belonging to two void triplets from the Calar Alto Void Integral-field Treasury surveY (CAVITY): CAVITY5273X and VGS31. Methods. We used integral-field unit spectroscopy and performed full spectral fitting with the FADO code, which models stellar and nebular emission simultaneously. Spatially resolved maps of stellar age, metallicity, and star formation rate were reconstructed using the integrated nested Laplace approximation. Morphological properties were derived using morfometryka, emission-line diagnostics were applied, and mass assembly functions were computed. Stellar masses and metallicities were compared to the mass-metallicity relation for void galaxies. Results. The two triplets show different evolutionary behaviours. CAVITY52731 is a massive quenched galaxy hosting an active galactic nucleus, while its companions and all galaxies in VGS31 are dominated by young stellar populations and recent star formation. Five galaxies experienced rapid stellar mass growth in the last 2 Gyr. Disturbed morphologies, including asymmetries and tidal features, indicate ongoing interactions. Galaxies in CAVITY5273X follow the expected void mass-metallicity relation, while VGS31 members show significant deviations. Conclusions. Our results show that local interactions can drive significant galaxy evolution even in the most underdense cosmic environments.