Context. Observationally, the quenching of star-forming galaxies appears to depend both on their mass and environment. The exact cause of the environmental dependence is still poorly understood, yet semi-analytic models (SAMs) of galaxy formation need to parameterise it to reproduce observations of galaxy properties. Aims. In this work, we use hydrodynamical simulations to investigate the quenching of disk galaxies through ram-pressure stripping (RPS) as they fall into galaxy clusters with the goal of characterising the importance of this effect for the reddening of disk galaxies. In particular, we compare our findings for the mass loss and evolution of the star formation rate in our simulations with prescriptions commonly employed in SAMs. We also analyse the gaseous wake of the galaxy, focusing on gas mixing and metal enrichment of the intracluster medium (ICM). Methods. Our set-up employs a live model of a galaxy cluster that interacts with infalling disk galaxies on different orbits. We use the moving-mesh code AREPO, augmented with a special refinement strategy to yield high resolution around the galaxy on its way through the cluster in a computationally efficient way. Cooling, star formation, and stellar feedback are included according to a simple sub-resolution model. Stellar light maps and the evolution of galaxy colours are computed with the stellar synthesis code FSPS to draw conclusions about quenching timescales of our model galaxies. Results. We find that the stripping models employed in current SAMs often differ substantially from our direct simulations. In most cases, the actual stripping radius of the simulated disk galaxies is larger than assumed in the SAMs, corresponding to an over prediction of the mass loss in SAMs. As long as the disk is not completely stripped in peaks of RPS during pericentre passage, some gas that remains bound to the galaxies is redistributed to the outer parts of disks as soon as the ram pressure becomes weaker again, an effect that is not captured in simplified treatements of RPS. Star formation in our model galaxies is quenched mainly because the hot gas halo is stripped, depriving the galaxy of its gas supply. The cold gas disk is only stripped completely in extreme cases, leading to full quenching and significant reddening on a very short timescale. Depending on the inclination angle, this can light up a galaxy for a few hundred Myrs until all of the gas is stripped or consumed and star formation drops to almost zero, suggesting a typical quenching timescale of ∼200 Myr. On the other hand, galaxies experiencing only mild ram pressure actually show an enhanced star formation rate that is consistent with observations. Stripped gas in the wake is mixed efficiently with intracluster gas already a few tens of kpc behind the disk, and this gas is free of residual star formation.
We study the case of a bright (L>L ⋆ ) barred spiral galaxy from the rich cluster A 3558 in the Shapley supercluster core (z=0.05) undergoing ram-pressure stripping. Integral-field spectroscopy with WiFeS at the 2.3m ANU, complemented by imaging in ultra violet (GALEX), B and R (ESO 2.2m WFI), Hα (Magellan), K (UKIRT), 24µm and 70µm (Spitzer), allows us to reveal the impact of ram pressure on the interstellar medium. With these data we study in detail the kinematics and the physical conditions of the ionized gas and the properties of the stellar populations. We observe one-sided extraplanar ionized gas along the full extent of the galaxy disc, extending ∼13 kpc in projection from it. Narrow-band Hα imaging resolves this outflow into a complex of knots and filaments, similar to those seen in other cluster galaxies undergoing ram-pressure stripping. The gas velocity field is complex with the extraplanar gas showing signature of rotation, while the stellar velocity field is regular and the K-band image shows a symmetric stellar distribution. We use line-ratio diagnostics to ascertain the origin of the observed emission. In all parts of the galaxy, we find a significant contribution from shock excitation, as well as emission powered by star formation. Shock-ionized gas is associated with the turbulent gas outflow and highly attenuated by dust (A v =1.5-2.3 mag). All these findings cover the whole phenomenology of early-stage ram-pressure stripping. Intense, highly obscured star formation is taking place in the nucleus, probably related to the bar, and in a region 12 kpc South-West from the centre. These two regions account for half of the total star formation in the galaxy, which overall amounts to 7.2±2.2 M ⊙ yr −1 . In the SW region we identify a starburst characterized by a ∼ 5× increase in the star-formation rate over the last ∼100 Myr, possibly related to the compression of the interstellar gas by the ram pressure. The scenario suggested by the observations is supported and refined by ad hoc N-body/hydrodynamical simulations which identify a rather narrow temporal range for the onset of ram-pressure stripping around t∼60 Myr ago, and an angle between the galaxy rotation axis and the intra-cluster medium wind of ∼ 45 • . The ram pressure is therefore acting at an intermediate angle between face-on and edge-on. Taking into account that the galaxy is found ∼1 Mpc from the cluster centre in a relatively low-density region, this study shows that ram-pressure stripping still acts efficiently on massive galaxies well outside the cluster cores, as also recently observed in the Virgo cluster.
Observations at low redshifts thus far fail to account for all of the baryons expected in the Universe according to cosmological constraints. A large fraction of the baryons presumably resides in a thin and warm-hot medium between the galaxies, where they are difficult to observe due to their low densities and high temperatures. Cosmological simulations of structure formation can be used to verify this picture and provide quantitative predictions for the distribution of mass in different large-scale structure components. Here we study the distribution of baryons and dark matter at different epochs using data from the Illustris simulation. We identify regions of different dark matter density with the primary constituents of large-scale structure, allowing us to measure mass and volume of haloes, filaments and voids. At redshift zero, we find that 49 % of the dark matter and 23 % of the baryons are within haloes more massive than the resolution limit of 2 × 10 8 M . The filaments of the cosmic web host a further 45 % of the dark matter and 46 % of the baryons. The remaining 31 % of the baryons reside in voids. The majority of these baryons have been transported there through active galactic nuclei feedback. We note that the feedback model of Illustris is too strong for heavy haloes, therefore it is likely that we are overestimating this amount. Categorizing the baryons according to their density and temperature, we find that 17.8 % of them are in a condensed state, 21.6 % are present as cold, diffuse gas, and 53.9 % are found in the state of a warm-hot intergalactic medium.
Aims. We investigate the influence of stellar bulges on the star formation and morphology of disc galaxies that suffer from ram pressure. Several tree-SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) simulations have been carried out to study the dependence of the star formation rate on the mass and size of a stellar bulge. In addition, different strengths of ram pressure and different alignments of the disc with respect to the intra-cluster medium (ICM) are applied. Methods. The simulations were carried out with the combined N-body/hydrodynamic code GADGET-2 with radiative cooling and a recipe for star formation. The same galaxy with different bulge sizes was used to accomplish 31 simulations with varying inclination angles and surrounding gas densities of 10 −27 g cm −3 and 10 −28 g cm −3 . For all the simulations a relative velocity of 1000 km s −1 for the galaxies and an initial gas temperature for the ICM of 10 7 K were applied. Besides galaxies flying edge-on and face-on through the surrounding gas, various disc tilt angles in between were used. To allow a comparison, the galaxies with the different bulges were also evolved in isolation to contrast the star formation rates. Furthermore, the influence of different disc gas mass fractions has been investigated. Results. As claimed in previous works, when ram pressure is acting on a galaxy, the star formation rate (SFR) is enhanced and rises up to four times with increasing ICM density compared to galaxies that evolve in isolation. However, a bulge suppresses the SFR when the same ram pressure is applied. Consequently, fewer new stars are formed because the SFR can be lowered by up to 2 M yr −1 . Furthermore, the denser the surrounding gas, the more interstellar medium (ISM) is stripped. While at an ICM density of 10 −28 g cmabout 30% of the ISM is stripped, the galaxy is almost completely (more than 90%) stripped when an ICM density of 10 −27 g cmis applied. But again, a bulge prevents the stripping of the ISM and reduces the amount being stripped by up to 10%. Thereby, fewer stars are formed in the wake if the galaxy contains a bulge. The dependence of the SFR on the disc tilt angle is not very pronounced.Merely a slight trend of decreasing star formation with increasing inclination angle can be determined. Furthermore, with increasing disc tilt angles, less gas is stripped and therefore fewer stars are formed in the wake. Reducing the disc gas mass fraction results in a lower SFR when the galaxies evolve in vacuum. On the other hand, the enhancement of the SFR in case of acting ram pressure is less pronounced with increasing gas mass fraction. Moreover, the fractional amount of stripped gas does not depend on the gas mass fraction.
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