A 500 kpc H i Extension of the Virgo pair NGC 4532/DDO 137 detected by the Arecibo Legacy ast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey

Rebecca A. Koopmann, Riccardo Giovanelli, Martha P. Haynes, Brian R. Kent, Thomas J. Balonek, Noah Brosch, James L. Higdon, John J. Salzer, Oded Spector

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36 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report the discovery of a ∼500 kpc H I extension southwest of the Virgo Cluster H I-rich pair NGC 4532/ DDO 137, detected as part of the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Survey. The feature is the longest and most massive H I tail structure so far found in the Virgo Cluster and, at 1.8 Mpc from M87, the most distant from the main concentration of the intracluster medium. The structure is spatially and spectrally separated into two ridges and is defined by diffuse emission and discrete clumps of mass (2.5-6.8) × 107 M. All emission is blueshifted with respect to the NGC 4532/DDO 137 pair emission. Including diffuse emission, the structure has a total mass of up to 7 × 108 M, equivalent to ∼10% of the system's H I mass. Optical R-band imaging finds no counterparts to a level of 26.5 mag arcsec -2. The characteristics of the structure appear most consistent with a tidal origin.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L85-L88
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume682
Issue number2 PART 2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Galaxies: clusters: general
  • Galaxies: clusters: individual (Virgo)
  • Galaxies: evolution
  • Galaxies: interactions
  • Galaxies: spiral
  • Galaxies: structure

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