Close Major-merger Pairs at z=0: Star-forming Galaxies with Pseudobulges

We present a study of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) with pseudobulges (bulges with Sérsic index n<2) in a loca close major-merger galaxy pair sample (H-KPAIR).With data from new aperture photometries in the optical and near-infrared bands (aperture size of 7 kpc) and from the literature,we find that the mean Age of central stellar populations in Spirals with pseudobulges is consistent with that of disky galaxies and is nearly constant against the bulge-to-total ratio (B/T).Paired Spirals have a slightly lower fraction of pure disk galaxies (B/T≤0.1) than their counterparts in the control sample.Compared to SFGs with classical bulges,those with pseudobulges have a higher (>2σ) mean of specific star formation rate (sSFR) enhancement (sSFR_(enh)=0.33±0.07 versus sSFR_(enh)=0.12±0.06) and broader scatter (by~1 dex).The eight SFGs that have the highest sSFR_(enh)in the sample all have pseudobulges.A majority (69%) of paired SFGs with strong enhancement (having sSFR more than5 times the median of the control galaxies) have pseudobulges.The Spitzer data show that the pseudobulges in these galaxies are tightly linked to nuclear/circum-nuclear starbursts.Pseudobulge SFGs in S+S and in S+E pairs have significantly (>3σ) different sSFR enhancement,with the means of sSFR_(enh)=0.45±0.08 and-0.04±0.11respectively.We find a decrease in the sSFR enhancements with the density of the environment for SFGs with pseudobulges.Since a high fraction (5/11) of pseudobulge SFGs in S+E pairs are in rich groups/clusters (loca density N_(1Mpc)≥7),the dense environment might be the cause for their low s SFR_(enh).

Formation of Superthin Galaxies in IllustrisTNG

Superthin galaxies are observed to have stellar disks with extremely small minor-to-major axis ratios.In this work,we investigate the formation of superthin galaxies in the TNG100 simulation.We trace the merger history and investigate the evolution of galaxy properties of a selected sample of superthin galaxies and a control sample of galaxies that share the same joint probability distribution in the stellar-mass and color diagram.Through making comparisons between the two galaxy samples,we find that present-day superthin galaxies had similar morphologies as the control sample counterparts at higher redshifts,but have developed extended flat“superthin”morphologies since z~1.During this latter evolution stage,superthin galaxies undergo an overwhelmingly higher frequency of prograde mergers(with orbit-spin angleθ_(orb)≤40°).Accordingly the spins of their dark matter halos have grown significantly and become noticeably higher than those of their normal disk counterparts.This further results in the buildup of their stellar disks at larger distances much beyond the regimes of normal disk galaxies.We also discuss the formation scenario of those superthin galaxies that live in larger dark matter halos as satellite galaxies therein.

Observation of HⅠaround three Satellite Galaxies of M31 with FAST:AndromedaⅡ,NGC 205,and NGC 185

With the exceptional sensitivity of the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope,we conducted observations of the neutral hydrogen(HⅠ)in the circumgalactic medium of Andromeda’s(M31)satellite galaxies,specifically AndromedaⅡ,NGC 205,and NGC 185.Initially,three drift scans were executed for these satellites,with a detection limit of 4×10^(18)cm^(-2)(approximately 1.88×10^(3)M_Θof HⅠmass),followed by a more in-depth scan of a specific region.We discovered a C-shaped HⅠarc structure sharing a position and line-of-sight velocity similar to a stellar ring structure around AndromedaⅡ,hinting at a potential connection with AndromedaⅡ.In the context of NGC 205,we identified two mass concentrations in the northeast direction,which could be indicative of tidal streams resulting from the interaction between this galaxy and M31.These new lumps discovered could be very helpful in solving the missing interstellar medium problem for NGC 205.Observations regarding NGC 185are consistent with previous studies,and we did not detect any additional HⅠmaterial around this galaxy.These observational results enhance our understanding of the evolution of these satellite galaxies and provide insight into their historical interactions with the galaxy M31.

Do Minor Interactions Trigger Star Formation in Galaxy Pairs?

We analyze the galaxy pairs in a set of volume limited samples from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey to study the effects of minor interactions on the star formation rate(SFR)and color of galaxies.We carefully design control samples of isolated galaxies by matching the stellar mass and redshift of the minor pairs.The SFR distributions and color distributions in the minor pairs differ from their controls at>99%significance level.We also simultaneously match the control galaxies in stellar mass,redshift and local density to assess the role of the environment.The null hypothesis can be rejected at>99%confidence level even after matching the environment.Our analysis shows a quenching in the minor pairs where the degree of quenching decreases with the increasing pair separation and plateaus beyond 50 kpc.We also prepare a sample of minor pairs with Hαline information.We calculate the SFR of these galaxies using the Hαline and repeat our analysis.We observe a quenching in the Hαsample too.We find that the majority of the minor pairs are quiescent systems that could be quenched due to minor interactions.Combining data from the Galaxy Zoo and Galaxy Zoo 2,we find that only∼1%galaxies have a dominant bulge,4%–7%galaxies host a bar and 5%–10%of galaxies show active galactic nucleus(AGN)activity in minor pairs.This indicates that the presence of bulge,bar or AGN activity plays an insignificant role in quenching the galaxies in minor pairs.The more massive companion satisfies the criteria for mass quenching in most of the minor pairs.We propose that the stripping and starvation likely caused the quenching in the less massive companion at a later stage of evolution.

Interacting system NGC 7805/6(Arp 112)and its tidal dwarf galaxy candidate

We present results from our Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope(GMRT)HⅠ,Himalayan Chandra Telescope(HCT)Hα,1 m Sampurnanand Telescope(ST)and 1.3 m Devasthal Fast Optical Telescope(DFOT)deep optical observations of the NGC 7805/6(Arp 112)system to test KUG 2359+311’s tidal dwarf galaxy(TDG)candidacy and explore the properties of the interacting system.Our GMRT HⅠmap shows no HⅠdetection associated with KUG 2359+311,nor any HⅠtail or bridge-like structure connecting KUG 2359+311 to the NGC 7805/6 system.Our HCT Hαimage,on the other hand,displays strong detections in KUG 2359+311,with net SFR0.035±0.009 M_(⊙)yr^(-1).The Hαdata constrain the redshift of KUG 2359+311 to 0.00≤z≤0.043,compared to the redshift of NGC 7806 of0.015.TDGs detected to date have all been HⅠrich,and displayed HⅠ,ionised gas and stellar tidal debris trails(bridges or tails)linking them to their parent systems.However,neither our HⅠdata nor our optical imaging,while three magnitudes deeper than SDSS,reveals a tidal trail connecting KUG 2359+311 to NGC 7805/6.Lack of HⅠ,presence of an old stellar population,ongoing star formation and reasonably high SFR compared to normal dwarf galaxies suggest that KUG 2359+311 may not be an Arp 112 TDG.It is most likely a case of a regular gas-rich dwarf galaxy undergoing a morphological transformation after having lost its entire gas content to an interaction with the Arp 112 system.Redshift and metallicity from future spectroscopic observations of KUG 2359+311 would help clarify the nature of this enigmatic structure.