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Published March 10, 2014 | Published + Submitted
Journal Article Open

The Search for Shock-excited H_2 in Virgo Spirals Experiencing Ram Pressure Stripping

Abstract

We investigate the presence of shock-excited H_2 in four Virgo cluster galaxies that show clear evidence of ongoing ram pressure stripping. Mid-infrared spectral mapping of the rotational H_2 emission lines were performed using the Infrared Spectrograph on board the Spitzer Space Telescope. We target four regions along the leading side of galaxies where the intracluster medium appears to be pushing back the individual galaxy's interstellar medium. For comparison purposes, we also study two regions on the trailing side of these galaxies: a region within an edge-on disk and an extraplanar star-forming region. We find a factor of 2.6 excess of warm H_2/PAH in our sample relative to the observed fractions in other nearby galaxies. We attribute the H_2/PAH excess to contributions of shock-excited H_2 which is likely to have been triggered by ongoing ram pressure interaction in our sample galaxies. Ram pressure driven shocks may also be responsible for the elevated ratios of [Fe ii]/[Ne ii] found in our sample.

Additional Information

© 2014 The American Astronomical Society. Received 2013 May 12; accepted 2014 January 23; published 2014 February 21. This work is based in part on observations made with the Spitzer Space Telescope, which is operated by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology under a contract with NASA. Support for this work was provided by NASA through a grant (R09078) issued by JPL/Caltech. O.I.W. is the recipient of a Super Science Fellowship from the Australian Research Council. The authors also thank the anonymous referee for the constructive comments which have greatly improved this paper.

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Published - 0004-637X_783_2_109.pdf

Submitted - 1401.6223v2.pdf

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