The history of star-forming regions in the tails of 6 GASP jellyfish galaxies observed with the Hubble Space Telescope
Using images collected with the WFC3 camera on board of the Hubble Space Telescope, we detect stellar clumps in continuum-subtracted $H\alpha$ and ultraviolet (F275W filter), such clumps are often embedded in larger regions (star-forming complexes) detected in the optical (F606W filter). We model th...
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Zusammenfassung: | Using images collected with the WFC3 camera on board of the Hubble Space
Telescope, we detect stellar clumps in continuum-subtracted $H\alpha$ and
ultraviolet (F275W filter), such clumps are often embedded in larger regions
(star-forming complexes) detected in the optical (F606W filter). We model the
photometry of these objects using BAGPIPES to obtain their stellar population
parameters. The median mass-weighted stellar ages are 27 Myr for $H\alpha$
clumps and 39 Myr for F275W clumps and star-forming complexes, the oldest stars
in the complexes can be older than $\sim$300 Myr which indicates that
star-formation is sustained for long periods of time. Stellar masses vary from
10$^{3.5}$ to 10$^{7.1}$ $M_\odot$, with star-forming complexes being more
massive objects in the sample. Clumps and complexes found further away from the
host galaxy are younger, less massive and less obscured by dust. We interpret
these trends as due to the effect of ram-pressure in different phases of the
interstellar medium. $H\alpha$ clumps form a well-defined sequence in the
stellar mass--SFR plane with slope 0.73. Some F275W clumps and star-forming
complexes follow the same sequence while others stray away from it and
passively age. The difference in stellar age between a complex and its youngest
embedded clump scales with the distance between the clump and the center of the
complex, with the most displaced clumps being hosted by the most elongated
complexes. This is consistent with a fireball-like morphology, where
star-formation proceeds in a small portion of the complex while older stars are
left behind producing a linear stellar population gradient. The stellar masses
of star-forming complexes are consistent with the ones of globular clusters,
but stellar mass surface densities are lower by 2 dex, and their properties are
more consistent with the population of dwarf galaxies in clusters. |
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DOI: | 10.48550/arxiv.2312.06879 |