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ALMA12CO(1-0) observations of 42 star-forming regions located outside the disc of the Virgo Cluster galaxy NGC 4254 within an H Igas tail produced during the galaxy’s interaction with another cluster member have revealed the presence of ten giant molecular clouds (GMCs) in four of these regions. All of the GMCs were resolved at the angular resolution of the observations (≃160 pc) and have molecular gas masses ofM(H2)≃(0.8 − 2.0)×106M⊙. These ten clouds are characterised by gas column densities [Σ(H2) ≃ 10 M⊙pc−2] and velocity dispersions [σv(CO) ≃ 3–12 km s−1] respectively lower and comparable to those encountered in similar GMCs in the Milky Way. They follow the relation between the gas column density and the star formation activity (Schmidt law) derived using similar data over the stellar disc of NGC 4254 and other local and Virgo cluster galaxies. With analytic calculations and tuned simulations, we show that these clouds are unstable and thus expected to dissolve on relatively short timescales (∼10–30 Myr). We show that they probably formed after the collapse of dense gas clouds in the H Igas tail stripped during the gravitational interaction that the galaxy suffered several hundreds millions of years ago. The clouds are short-lived and isolated given the low density of the surrounding intracluster medium, which cannot confine the gas expelled by stellar feedback. We discuss the implications of these results in the general context of the fate of stripped gas in hostile cluster environments.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available August 1, 2027
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Context.Galaxies fly inside galaxy clusters and ram pressure by the intracluster medium (ICM) can remove a large amount of the interstellar medium (ISM) from the galaxy, and deposit the gas in the ICM. The ISM decoupled from the host galaxy leaves a long trail following the moving galaxy. Such long trails track galaxy motions and they can be detected with sensitive data in Hα. Aims.We study the Hαtail trailing NGC 4569 in the Virgo cluster. Methods.The initial discovery was made with the deep Hαimaging data with CFHT from the VESTIGE project. The follow-up spectroscopic observations were carried out withAPO/DIS,MMT/Binospec, andCFHT/SITELLE. Results.Aside from the known 80 kpc Hαtail downstream of NGC 4569, the deep Hαimaging data allow the Hαtail detected to at least 230 kpc from the galaxy. More importantly, we confirmed the Hαclumps implied from the imaging data with spectroscopic data. The Hαclumps show a smooth radial velocity gradient across ∼1300 km/s, eventually reaching the velocity of the cluster. Conclusions.For the first time, this discovery offers a view of the full deceleration process of the stripped ISM. This discovery also showcases the potential with wide-field Hαsurvey on galaxy clusters to discover intracluster optical emission-line clouds originated from cluster galaxies. These clouds provide kinematic tracers to the infall history of cluster galaxies and the turbulence in the ICM. They also serve as excellent multi-phase objects for studying the classical cloud-crushing problem and other important physical processes.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available January 1, 2027
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We report the discovery of 31 new high-zquasars in the redshift range 6.6 < z < 7.8. These quasars were selected from approximately 3000 deg2of sky covered during the first 1.5 years of the Euclid Wide Survey, representing the initial results of theEuclidhigh-zquasar search. Our candidate selection employed multiple machine-learning and probabilistic techniques applied to theEuclidIE,YE,JE, andHEimages, supplemented by ancillaryz-band data when available. Spectroscopic follow-up observations were carried out with Keck, Magellan, and the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT). Among the new discoveries, there are 12 quasars atz ≥ 7, more than doubling the number of previously known quasars atz ≥ 7. The newly discovered quasars exhibit 21.2 < JE < 23.2 (−25.5 < M1450 < −23.6), extending quasar studies to the faint end of the quasar luminosity function (QLF) atz ≳ 7. The quasar with the highest-z, EUCL J172902.75+641018.1 atz ≈ 7.77, sets the new redshift record for the most distant quasar ever reported. These discoveries demonstrateEuclid’s transformative role in high-zquasar discovery and set the stage for future follow-up studies of the early galaxies hosting quasars, supermassive black hole growth, and the intergalactic medium in the epoch of reionisation.more » « lessFree, publicly-accessible full text available July 1, 2027
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The Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Ionised Gas Emission (VESTIGE) is a blind narrow-band H α + [NII] imaging survey of the Virgo cluster carried out with MegaCam at the Canada-French-Hawaii telescope. We use a new set of data extracted from VESTIGE to study the impact of the hostile cluster environment on the star formation process down to the scale of HII regions (∼50 pc). Here, HII regions are identified and their parameters measured using the HII PHOT code on a sample of 114 late-type galaxies spanning a wide range in morphological type (Sa-Sd, Im, BCD), stellar mass (10 6.5 ≤ M star ≤ 10 11 M ⊙ ), and star formation activity (10 −3 ≤ SFR ≤ 10 M ⊙ yr −1 ). Owing to the exquisite average resolution of the VESTIGE data (0.65 arcsec), we detect 11302 HII regions with an H α luminosity L (H α ) ≥ 10 37 erg s −1 . We show that the typical number of HII regions in gas-stripped objects is significantly lower than in healthy late-types of similar stellar mass. We also show that in these gas-stripped galaxies the number of HII regions significantly drops outside the effective radius, suggesting that the quenching process occurs outside-in, in agreement with other multifrequency observations. These new results consistently confirm that the main mechanism responsible for the decrease of the star formation activity observed in cluster galaxies is ram pressure, allowing us to discard other milder processes such as starvation or strangulation, which are unable to reproduce the observed radially truncated profiles.more » « less
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Euclid : Early Release Observations – NISP-only sources and the search for luminous z = 6–8 galaxiesThis paper presents a search for high redshift galaxies from theEuclidEarly Release Observations program ‘Magnifying Lens.’ The 1.5 deg2area covered by the twin Abell lensing cluster fields is comparable in size to the few other deep near-infrared surveys such as COSMOS, and so provides an opportunity to significantly increase known samples of rare UV-bright galaxies atz≈ 6–8 (MUV≲ −22). Beyond their still uncertain role in reionisation, these UV-bright galaxies are ideal laboratories from which to study galaxy formation and constrain the bright-end of the UV luminosity function. Of the 501 994 sources detected from a combinedYE,JE, andHENISP detection image, 168 do not have any appreciable VIS/IEflux. These objects span a range in spectral colours, separated into two classes: 139 extremely red sources; and 29 Lyman-break galaxy candidates. Best-fit redshifts and spectral templates suggest the former is composed of bothz≳ 5 dusty star-forming galaxies andz≈ 1–3 quiescent systems. The latter is composed of more homogeneous Lyman-break galaxies atz≈ 6–8. In both cases, contamination by L- and T-type dwarfs cannot be ruled out withEuclidimages alone. Additional contamination from instrumental persistence is investigated using a novel time series analysis. This work lays the foundation for future searches within the Euclid Deep Fields, where thousands morez≳ 6 Lyman-break systems and extremely red sources will be identified.more » « less
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