Search

Gas reservoirs, internal or acquired, play an important role in the secular evolution of interacting galaxies, since they are able to enhance/trigger star formation episodes and, probably, feed the activity of active galactic nuclei. Using Fabry‐Perot observations, we have mapped, in the Hα line, the warm (T ≈ 10 4 )g as distribution and the velocity fields of the galaxy members of five interacting, gas-rich galaxy systems. We investigated two M51-like systems (Arp 70 and Arp 74), two systems containing highly disrupted members (WBL 366 and RR 24) and a case of merging in progress (Arp 299, one of the nearest luminous infrared objects). We detected gas motions following the elongated arm/tail of Arp 70b, while in the fainter member of the pair of galaxies, Arp 70a, the gas distribution is off-centred with respect to the stellar isophotes, suggesting an external acquisition. Our kinematic data highlighted noncircular motions in the velocity field of one of the members of Arp 74 (Arp 74a). The two galaxies of the RR 24 system are connected by one tidal tail, through which the kinematically disturbed component RR 24b seems to supply warm gas to RR 24a. In spite of the nearly irregular gas distribution and perturbed morphology, WBL 366a (the star-forming galaxy VV523) and WBL 366b have nearly regular velocity fields. The velocity field in the Arp 299 system is irregular, and gas flow between the two nuclei is detected. The present observations, discussed in the light of model predictions and complementary observations from the literature, suggest that all these systems are still probably in an early phase of the encounter. However, the ionized gas distribution and kinematics are strongly influenced by tidal forces. In particular, cross-fuelling mechanisms between galaxies are in action. In Arp 299 the warm and cold gaseous components show similar kinematic properties, although the cold gas seems to maintain a still better organized motion with respect to the warm gas. Ke yw ords: galaxies: general ‐ galaxies: interactions ‐ galaxies: kinematics and dynamics.

We report the discovery of active star formation in the HI cloud associated with the interacting Seyfert system NGC 3227/NGC 3226 that was originally identified as a candidate tidal dwarf galaxy (TDG) by Mundell et al. and that we name J1023+1952. We present the results of broad-band BRIJHK and ultraviolet imaging that show the HI cloud is associated with massive on-going star formation seen as a cluster of blue knots (M_B < -15.5 mag) surrounded by a diffuse ultraviolet halo and co-spatial with a ridge of high column density neutral hydrogen its southern half. We also detect Ha emission from the knots with a flux density corresponding to a star-formation rate of SFR~0.011 Msun per yr. Although J1023+1952 spatially overlaps the edge of the disk of NGC 3227, it has a mean HI velocity 150 km/s higher than that of NGC 3227 so is kinematically distinct; comparison of ionized and neutral gas kinematics in the star-forming region show closely matched velocities, providing strong evidence that the knots are embedded in J1023+1952 and do not merely lie behind in the disk of NGC 3227, thus confirming J1023+1952 as a gas-rich dwarf galaxy. We discuss two scenarios for the origin of J1023+1952; as a third, pre-existing dwarf galaxy involved in the interaction with NGC 3227 and NGC 3226, or a newly-forming dwarf galaxy condensing out of the tidal debris removed from the gaseous disk of NGC 3227. Given the lack of a detectable old stellar population, a tidal origin is more likely. If J1023+1952 is a bound object forming from returning gaseous tidal tail material, we infer a dynamically young age similar to its star-formation age, and suggests it is in the earliest stages of TDG evolution. Whatever the origin of J1023+1952 we suggest that its star formation is shock-triggered by collapsing tidal debris. (Abridged)

We have mapped with the IRAM interferometer at Plateau de Bure (PdBI) the 12CO emission towards intergalactic star forming regions located in the tidal tail stemming from NGC7319, in the Stephan's Quintet compact group of galaxies. The 13CO emission of the same region was observed with the IRAM 30m telescope and optical spectroscopy of several HII regions in the area were obtained with the Calar Alto 3.5m telescope. We recovered with the interferometer about 50% of the CO(1-0) total emission that had been earlier measured with single dish observations. We find two main areas of CO emission: (i) an elongated region towards the area known as SQ B where a Tidal Dwarf Galaxy could currently be forming (ii) a barely resolved area at the tip of the optical tidal arm. Both regions follow dust lanes visible on HST images and their CO peak coincides spatially exactly with the maximum of the Halpha line emission. In SQ B, there is furthermore very good kinematical agreement between the CO, Halpha and HI components. We conclude from these coincidences that the gaseous matter found in quantities in the area is physically associated to the optical tidal tail and thus that the intergalactic atomic hydrogen there was expelled from NGC7319. Furthermore, the relatively high oxygen abundances (about solar) estimated from the optical spectra of the HII regions imply that the gas feeding the star formation originated from the inner regions of the parent galaxy. In SQ B, we derive from different tracers a star formation rate of 0.5 \msun/yr. The inferred molecular gas consumption time of 0.5 Gyr lies in the range of values found for spiral and starburst galaxies. On the other hand, the ratio of 12CO/13CO>25 is much higher than the values found in disks of spiral galaxies. A relatively low opacity for the 12CO gas is the most likely reason., Accepted by A&A, 10 pages, 7 figures, a version with high resolution figures can be obtained from http://www.ugr.es/~ute/1330.pdf

We present new broad-band optical and near-infrared CCD imaging together with deep optical intermediate-resolution spectroscopy of the Hickson Compact Group 31. We analyze the morphology and colors of the stellar populations of the galaxies, as well as the kinematics, physical conditions and chemical composition of the ionized gas in order to get a more complete view on the origin and evolution of the system. We estimate the ages of the most recent star formation bursts of the system, finding an excellent consistency among the values obtained with different indicators and starburst models. We find that member F hosts the youngest starburst of the group, showing a substantial population of Wolf-Rayet stars. The chemical abundances are fairly similar in all the members of the group despite their very different absolute magnitudes. We argue that the use of traditional metallicity-luminosity relations based on the absolute $B$-magnitude is not appropriate for dwarf starburst galaxies, because their luminosity is dominated by the transient contribution of the starburst to the blue luminosity. We think that members E and F of the group are candidate tidal dwarf galaxies because of their high metallicity, their kinematics, and the absence of underlying old stellar populations. Finally, we propose that HCG~31 is suffering several almost simultaneous interaction processes. The most relevant of these processes are: (a) the merging of members A and C, that would have produced two optical tidal tails; and (b) a fly-by encounter between G and the A+C complex, that would have produced an \ion{H}{1} tidal tail from the stripping of the external gas of A+C, from which members F and E have originated., Accepted for publication in ApJS, 41 pages, 15 figures, 9 tables

We present an extensive study of magnetic fields in a system of merging galaxies. We obtained for NGC4038/39 (the Antennae) radio total intensity and polarization maps at 8.44, 4.86 and 1.49GHz using the VLA in the C and D configurations. The radio thermal fraction was found to be about 50% at 10.45GHz, higher than in normal spirals. The mean total magnetic fields in both galaxies are about two times stronger (20microG) than in normal spirals. However,the degree of field regularity is rather low, implying tangling of the regular component in regions with interaction-enhanced star formation. Our data combined with those in HI, Halpha, X-rays and in far infrared allow us to study local interrelations between different gas phases and magnetic fields. We distinguish several radio-emitting regions with different physical properties and at various evolutionary stages. The whole overlapping region shows a coherent magnetic field structure, probably tracing the line of collision between the arms of merging spirals while the total radio emission reveals hidden star formation nests. The southern part of it is a particularly intense merger-triggered starburst. Highly tangled magnetic fields reach there strengths of 30microG, even larger than in both individual galaxies, possibly due to compression of the original fields pulled out from the parent disks. In the northeastern ridge, away from star-forming regions, the magnetic field is highly coherent with a strong regular component of 10microG tracing gas shearing motions along the tidal tail. Modelling Faraday rotation data show that we deal with a three-dimensionally curved structure of magnetic fields, becoming almost parallel to the sky plane in the southeastern part of the ridge., Accepted for publication in AA, 16 pages including 16 figures, high-res version at http://www.oa.uj.edu.pl/~chris/publ/4038.ps.gz

Integral field optical spectroscopy with the INTEGRAL system has been used to investigate for the first time the two-dimensional kinematic and ionization properties of the extended, warm, ionized gas in Arp 220 over an area of 75″.0 × 40″.0 (i.e., 28 × 15 kpc). The structure of the ionized gas is divided into well-identified regions associated with the X-ray - emitting plumes and extended lobes, previously studied in detail by McDowell and collaborators. The overall ionization state of the warm gas in the plumes and lobes, as traced by the [N II]/Hα line, is consistent with high-velocity shocks expanding in a neutral ambient medium. Changes in the ionization state of the gas along the major axis of the plumes are detected, in particular in the outer regions of the northwestern plume, where the transition between the main stellar body of the galaxy and a broad, low surface brightness tidal tail is located. If the plumes are produced by a starburst-driven galactic wind, the efficiency in the conversion of mechanical to radiation energy is a factor of at least 10 smaller than in galactic winds developed in edge-on spiral galaxies with well-defined rotation and axis of outflow. The kinematic properties of the lobes, with an average velocity of +8 km s-1 (east lobe) and -79 km s-1 (west lobe), are to a first order in agreement with the predictions of the merger scenario, according to which the lobes are tidally induced gas condensations produced during the merging process. The largest velocity gradients of 50 km s-1 kpc-1 and velocity deviations of up to +280 and -320 km s-1 from the systemic velocity are associated not with the plumes but with the outer stellar envelope and broad tidal tails at distances of up to 7.5 kpc, indicating that the large-scale kinematics of the extended ionized gas in Arp 220 is most likely dominated by the tidally induced motions, and not by galactic winds associated with nuclear starbursts., Luis Colina thanks the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias and the Space Telescope Science Institute for their hospitality and financial support. We also thank Luis Cuesta for his help using GRAFICOS. Support for this work was provided by CICYT (Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología), through grants PB98-0340-C01, PB98-0340-C02, and AYA2002-01055. Dave Clements acknowledges funding by PPARC.

We have used the Hubble Space Telescope and Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 to image the putative tidal dwarf galaxy located at the tip of the Southern tidal tail of NGC 4038/9, the Antennae. We resolve individual stars, and identify two stellar populations. Hundreds of massive stars are present, concentrated into tight OB associations on scales of 200 pc, with ages ranging from 2-100 Myr. An older stellar population is distributed roughly following the outer contours of the neutral hydrogen in the tidal tail; we associate these stars with material ejected from the outer disks of the two spirals. The older stellar population has a red giant branch tip at I=26.5+/-0.2 from which we derive a distance modulus (m-M)_0=30.7+/-0.25. The implied distance of 13.8+/-1.7 Mpc is significantly smaller than commonly quoted distances for NGC 4038/9. In contrast to the previously studied core of the merger, we find no super star clusters. One might conclude that SSCs require the higher pressures found in the central regions in order to form, while spontaneous star formation in the tail produces the kind of O-B star associations seen in dwarf irregular galaxies. The youngest population in the putative tidal dwarf has a total stellar mass of ~2x10^5 Msun, while the old population has a stellar mass of \~7x10^7 Msun. If our smaller distance modulus is correct, it has far-reaching consequences for this proto-typical merger. Specifically, the luminous to dynamical mass limits for the tidal dwarf candidates are significantly less than 1, the central super star clusters have sizes typical of galactic globular clusters rather than being 1.5 times as large, and the unusually luminous X-ray population becomes both less luminous and less populous.

We present the first all-sky view of the Sagittarius (Sgr) dwarf galaxy mapped by M giant star tracers detected in the complete Two Micron All-Sky Survey (2MASS). The main body is fit with a King profile of 30 deg limiting radius, but with a break in the density profile from stars in tidal tails. We argue that much of the observed structure beyond the 224' core radius may be unbound as the satellite undergoes catastrophic disruption. A striking, >150 deg trailing tidal tail extends from the Sgr center and arcs across the South Galactic Hemisphere. A prominent leading debris arm extends from the Sgr center northward of the Galactic plane to an ~40 kpc apoGalacticon, loops towards the North Galactic Cap (NGC) and descends back towards the Galactic plane, foreshortened and covering the NGC. The Sgr tails lie along a well-defined orbital plane that shows little precession, which supports the notion of a nearly spherical Galactic potential. The Sun lies near the path of leading Sgr debris; thus, former Sgr stars may be near or in the solar neighborhood. The number of M giants in the Sgr tails is >15% that within the King limiting radius of the Sgr center. That several gigayear old M giants are so widespread along the Sgr tidal arms not only places limits on the dynamical age of these arms but poses a timing problem that bears on the recent binding energy of the Sgr core and that is naturally explained by recent and catastrophic mass loss. Sgr appears to contribute >75% of the high latitude, halo M giants; no evidence for M giant tidal debris from the Magellanic Clouds is found. Generally good correspondence is found between the M giant, all-sky map of the Sgr system and all previously published detections of potential Sgr debris with the exception of Sgr carbon stars -- which must be subluminous to resolve the discrepancy.

In high-density star-forming regions, encounters of protostars surrounded by accretion disks are thought to be quite likely events. There is increasing numerical and observational evidence that disks around early stars may display characteristic spiral patterns, become elliptical, or display a ring structure. In this paper simulations of prograde encounters between a disk-surrounded protostar and a secondary star are used to investigate the mass transport within the disk induced by such encounters. It is demonstrated that in this context the appearance of super-Keplerian velocities in the tidal tail is the key to predicting properties such as spiral arms, rings, and elliptic disks. A detailed parameter study reveals the dependence of mass transport on the actual encounter parameters and the influence of hydrodynamic effects and self-gravity on the disk dynamics. Further simulation results show that there are two different mechanisms at work to create the first two spiral arms. The first spiral arm resembles a shocklike structure, whereas the second arm (and possibly subsequent arms) is caused by a relative movement between the central star and the center of mass of the disk, caused by the mass imbalance in the disk.

Pixel-by-pixel colour-magnitude and colour-colour diagrams - based on a subset of the Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys Early Release Observations - provide a powerful technique to explore and deduce the star and star cluster formation histories of the Mice and the Tadpole interacting galaxies. In each interacting system we find some 40 bright young star clusters (20 = 35% of the active star formation in encounters occurring in star clusters. This is the first time that young star clusters have been detected along the tidal tails in interacting galaxies. The tidal tail of the Tadpole system is dominated by blue star forming regions, which occupy some 60% of the total area covered by the tail and contribute ~70% of the total flux in the F475W filter (decreasing to ~40% in F814W). The remaining pixels in the tail have colours consistent with those of the main disk. The tidally triggered burst of star formation in the Mice is of similar strength in both interacting galaxies, but it has affected only relatively small, spatially coherent areas.

(Abridged) We report the results of a 20 ks Chandra ACIS-S observation of the interacting galaxy pair NGC 4485/4490. A total of 29 discrete X-ray sources are found coincident with NGC 4490, but only one is found within NGC 4485. The sources range in observed X-ray luminosity from ~ 2 x 10^37 to ~ 4 x 10^39 erg/s. Extensive diffuse X-ray emission is detected coincident with the disk of NGC 4490, and in the tidal tail of NGC 4485, which appears to be thermal in nature and hence the signature of a hot ISM in both galaxies. However, the diffuse component accounts for only ~ 10% of the total X-ray luminosity of the system (2 x 10^40 erg/s, 0.5 - 8 keV), which arises predominantly in a handful of the brightest discrete sources. This diffuse emission fraction is unusually low for a galaxy pair that has many characteristics that would lead it to be classified as a starburst system, possibly as a consequence of the small gravitational potential well of the system. The discrete source population, on the other hand, is similar to that observed in other starburst systems, possessing a flat luminosity function slope of ~ -0.6 and a total of six ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULX). Five of the ULX are identified as probable black hole X-ray binary systems, and the sixth (which is coincident with a radio continuum source) is identified as an X-ray luminous supernova remnant. The ULX all lie in star-formation regions, providing further evidence of the link between the ULX phenomenon and active star formation. Importantly, this shows that even in star forming regions, the ULX population is dominated by accreting systems. We discuss the implications of this work for physical models of the nature of ULX, and in particular how it argues against the intermediate-mass black hole hypothesis.

Integral field optical spectroscopy using the INTEGRAL system (complemented with Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 imaging) is used to characterize the kinematic and ionization properties of the warm ionized gas in the ultraluminous infrared galaxy IRAS 15206+3342. These data present kinematic and morphological evidence for a tidal tail connecting the nuclear star-forming regions with a remnant stellar system located at a projected distance of 20 kpc away from the nucleus. The velocity field and the velocity dispersion map indicate the presence of gas flowing inward along the tidal tail, feeding the nuclear regions where the previously detected arc-shaped chain of young stellar clusters is forming stars at a rate of about 150 M⊙ yr-1. According to theoretical models by Mihos & Hernquist, these characteristics (e.g., large gas inflows and massive starbursts) are expected during the final coalescence phase of two disk galaxies with bulges. No kinematic evidence for a second nucleus, nor for the presence of young star-forming regions located along the external parts of the tidal tail, is found, further supporting the conclusion that this system is an advanced merger of two galaxies. Furthermore, photometric and geometrical arguments indicate that the progenitors of this ultraluminous infrared system were two low-luminosity (, Support for this work was provided by CICYT (Comisión Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnología) through grants PB98-0340-C01 and PB98- 0340-C02.

The edge-on galaxy UGC 6697 has a peculiar morphological appearance: a high surface brightness SE component and what appears to be a tidal tail with blue color and low surface brightness extending toward the NW, as dramatically evidenced in subarcsecond broad band images taken with the VLT and in a deep Hα frame. Long-slit spectroscopy shows a 500 km/s rigid-body rotation curve with a sudden central velocity jump, of more than 200 km/s amplitude. Fabry-Perot observations of the Hα emission line enable us to trace a detailed 2D velocity field, confirming the complex kinematical behaviour, particularly in the circumnuclear region where multiple velocity components are clearly superposed on the same line of sight. This region hosts a double nucleus and shows sudden color and metallicity gradients, which can be reconciled with the complex velocity field assuming the presence of a second galaxy hidden behind the main body of UGC 6697.

We investigate a sample of 3 dwarf elliptical galaxies in the Virgo Cluster which have significant reservoirs of HI. We present deep optical imaging (from CFHT and KPNO), HI spectra (Arecibo) and resolved HI imaging (VLA) of this sample. These observations confirm their HI content and optical morphologies, and indicate that the gas is unlikely to be recently accreted. The sample has more in common with dwarf transitionals, although dwarf transitionals are generally lower in stellar mass and gas fraction. VCC 190 has an HI tidal tail from a recent encounter with the massive spiral galaxy NGC 4224. In VCC 611, blue star-forming features are observed which were unseen by shallower SDSS imaging., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, accepted in AJ

Fully general relativistic simulations of black hole–neutron star (BHNS) binary inspiral and merger indicate that the NS simply plunges into the BH over much of the likely binary parameter space, without leaving a remnant disk. Plunging mergers are unlikely to generate useful information about the NS equation of state (EOS) from the gravitational waves (GWs) alone. However, when the initial BH possesses a moderate to high spin, aligned with the orbital angular momentum, or when the NS possesses a low compaction, the NS may tidally disrupt outside the BH’s innermost stable circular orbit radius, generating a massive accretion disk and a long tidal tail. When observed by Advanced LIGO/VIRGO, the GWs from this scenario may in fact constrain the NS EOS. After disruption, some of the neutron-rich tidal tail may be unbound, favoring formation of r-process elements. The subsequent decay may be observable in the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Meanwhile, the remnant BH accretion disk may provide the energy reservoir for a short gamma-ray burst. Finally, even in cases for which no EOS information may be gleaned, the BHNS binary is expected to act as a unipolar inductor during inspiral, potentially releasing an EM signature that distinguishes certain binary parameters. Taken together, these phenomena make BHNS binary mergers rich and exciting systems for theoretical modeling, and we outline the latest results from the most advanced, fully general relativistic simulations.

We present a first exploration of the results of neutron star-black hole mergers using black hole masses in the most likely range of $7M_\odot-10M_\odot$, a neutrino leakage scheme, and a modeling of the neutron star material through a finite-temperature nuclear-theory based equation of state. In the range of black hole spins in which the neutron star is tidally disrupted ($\chi_{\rm BH}\gtrsim 0.7$), we show that the merger consistently produces large amounts of cool ($T\lesssim 1\,{\rm MeV}$), unbound, neutron-rich material ($M_{\rm ej}\sim 0.05M_\odot-0.20M_\odot$). A comparable amount of bound matter is initially divided between a hot disk ($T_{\rm max}\sim 15\,{\rm MeV}$) with typical neutrino luminosity $L_\nu\sim 10^{53}\,{\rm erg/s}$, and a cooler tidal tail. After a short period of rapid protonization of the disk lasting $\sim 10\,{\rm ms}$, the accretion disk cools down under the combined effects of the fall-back of cool material from the tail, continued accretion of the hottest material onto the black hole, and neutrino emission. As the temperature decreases, the disk progressively becomes more neutron-rich, with dimmer neutrino emission. This cooling process should stop once the viscous heating in the disk (not included in our simulations) balances the cooling. These mergers of neutron star-black hole binaries with black hole masses $M_{\rm BH}\sim 7M_\odot-10M_\odot$ and black hole spins high enough for the neutron star to disrupt provide promising candidates for the production of short gamma-ray bursts, of bright infrared post-merger signals due to the radioactive decay of unbound material, and of large amounts of r-process nuclei., Comment: 20 pages, 19 figures

We present new Gemini/GMOS spectroscopic and archival imaging data of the interacting galaxy NGC 92, which is part of a compact group and displays an extended tidal tail. We have studied the physical properties of 20 star-forming complexes in this system. We found that the star-forming regions located in the tidal tail of NGC 92 have ages younger than 8 Myr, which suggests that these objects were formed in situ. The spectroscopic data reveals that these regions have slightly sub-solar metallicities, suggesting that they were formed from pre-enriched material. Using the oxygen abundances derived for each system, we found that the extended tidal tail of NGC 92 has a flat metallicity distribution. Although this scenario is consistent with N-body simulations of interacting systems, where there is gas mixing triggered by the interaction, archival Halpha Fabry-Perot data cubes of NGC 92 have not shown a velocity gradient along the tail of this galaxy, which under certain assumptions could be interpreted as a lack of gas flow in the tail. Our results suggest that a fraction of the enriched gas that was originally located in the center of the galaxy was expelled into the tidal tail when the interacting process that formed the tail happened. However, we can not exclude the scenario in which the star formation in the tail has increased its original oxygen abundance., 17 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

A deep 400-ksec ACIS-S observation of the nearest quasar known, Mrk 231, is combined with archival 120-ksec data obtained with the same instrument and setup to carry out the first ever spatially resolved spectral analysis of a hot X-ray emitting circumgalactic nebula around a quasar. The 65 x 50 kpc X-ray nebula shares no resemblance with the tidal debris seen at optical wavelengths. One notable exception is the small tidal arc 3.5 kpc south of the nucleus where excess soft X-ray continuum emission and Si XIII 1.8 keV line emission are detected, consistent with star formation and its associated alpha-element enhancement, respectively. An X-ray shadow is also detected at the location of the 15-kpc northern tidal tail. The hard X-ray continuum emission within 6 kpc of the center is consistent with being due entirely to the bright central AGN. The soft X-ray spectrum of the outer (>6 kpc) portion of the nebula is best described as the sum of two thermal components with T~3 and ~8 million K and spatially uniform super-solar alpha element abundances, relative to iron. This result implies enhanced star formation activity over ~10^8 yrs accompanied with redistribution of the metals on large scale. The low-temperature thermal component is not present within 6 kpc of the nucleus, suggesting extra heating in this region from the circumnuclear starburst, the central quasar, or the wide-angle quasar-driven outflow identified from optical IFU spectroscopy on a scale of >3 kpc. Significant azimuthal variations in the soft X-ray intensity are detected in the inner region where the outflow is present. The soft X-ray emission is weaker in the western quadrant, coincident with a deficit of Halpha and some of the largest columns of neutral gas outflowing from the nucleus. Shocks created by the interaction of the wind with the ambient ISM may heat the gas to high temperatures at this location. (abridged), 43 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal

It has recently been proposed that the dwarf spheroidal galaxies located in the Local Group disks of satellites (DoSs) may be tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) born in a major merger at least 5 Gyr ago. Whether TDGs can live that long is still poorly constrained by observations. As part of deep optical and HI surveys with the CFHT MegaCam camera and Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope made within the ATLAS3D project, and follow-up spectroscopic observations with the Gemini-North telescope, we have discovered old TDG candidates around several early-type galaxies. At least one of them has an oxygen abundance close to solar, as expected for a tidal origin. This confirmed pre-enriched object is located within the gigantic, but very low surface brightness, tidal tail that emanates from the elliptical galaxy, NGC 5557. An age of 4 Gyr estimated from its SED fitting makes it the oldest securely identified TDG ever found so far. We investigated the structural and gaseous properties of the TDG and of a companion located in the same collisional debris, and thus most likely of tidal origin as well. Despite several Gyr of evolution close to their parent galaxies, they kept a large gas reservoir. Their central surface brightness is low and their effective radius much larger than that of typical dwarf galaxies of the same mass. This possibly provides us with criteria to identify tidal objects which can be more easily checked than the traditional ones requiring deep spectroscopic observations. In view of the above, we discuss the survival time of TDGs and question the tidal origin of the DoSs., Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We have detected CO 1-0 emission along the tidal tail of the NGC 4194 (the Medusa) merger. It is the first CO detection in the optical tail of a minor merger. Emission is detected both in the centre of the tail and at its tip. The molecular mass in the 33'' Onsala 20m beam is estimated to be >= 8.5 x 10^7 M_{sun} which is at least 4% of the total molecular mass measured so far in this system. We suggest that the emission is a molecular tidal tail which is part of the extended structure of the main body, and that the molecular gas was thrown out by the collision instead of having formed in situ from condensing atomic material. We find it unlikely that the emission is associated with a tidal dwarf galaxy (even if the future formation of such an object is possible), but high resolution HI, CO and optical observations are necessary to resolve the issue. The Medusa is very likely the result of an elliptical+spiral collison and our detection supports the notion that molecular gas in minor mergers can be found at great distances from the merger centre., 4 Pages, 2 figures included, accepted for A&A letters

We present the discovery of an isolated compact group of galaxies that is extremely dense (median projected galaxy separation: 6.9 kpc), has a very low velocity dispersion ($\sigma_{\rm 2D}$ = 67 km s$^{-1}$), and where all observed members show emission lines and are morphologically disturbed. These properties, together with the lack of spirals and the presence of a prominent tidal tail make this group one of the most evolved compact groups., Comment: 15 pages,LaTeX, 2figures. A Postscript figure with spectra is available at ftp://astro.uibk.ac.at/pub/weinberger/ . Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters

Observations with the Wide-Field/Planetary Camera-2 of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) are presented for three radio-loud quasars: 3C 48 (z=0.367), B2 1425+267 (z=0.366), and 3C 345 (z=0.594). All three quasars have luminous (~4 L^*) galaxies as hosts, which are either elliptical (B2 1425+267 and 3C 345) or interacting (3C 48), and all hosts are 0.5 - 1.0 mag bluer in (V-I) than other galaxies with the same overall morphology at similar redshifts to the quasars. The host of 3C 48 has many H II regions and a very extended tidal tail. All nine of the radio-loud quasars studied here and in Bahcall et al. (1997) either have bright elliptical hosts or occur in interacting systems. There is a robust correlation between the radio emission of the quasar and the luminosity of host galaxy; the radio-loud quasars reside in galaxies that are on average about 1 mag brighter than hosts of the radio-quiet quasars., Accepted for publication in ApJ. 3 postscript and 3 jpeg figures. Original figures may be found in ftp://eku.sns.ias.edu/pub/sofia/RadioLoud/

We present VLA HI observations and UH88 deep optical B- and R-band observations of the IR luminous merger Arp 299 (= NGC 3690 + IC 694). These data reveal a gas-rich, optically faint tidal tail with a length of over 180 kpc. The size of this tidal feature necessitates an old interaction age for the merger (~750 Myr since first periapse), which is currently experiencing a very young star burst (~20 Myr). The observations reveal a most remarkable structure within the tidal tail: it appears to be composed of two parallel filaments separated by ~20 kpc. One of the filaments is gas rich with little if any starlight, while the other is gas poor. We believe that this bifurcation results from a warped disk in one of the progenitors. The quantities and kinematics of the tidal HI suggest that Arp 299 results from the collision of a retrograde Sab-Sb galaxy (IC 694) and a prograde Sbc-Sc galaxy (NGC 3690) that occurred 750 Myr ago and which will merge into a single object in ~60 Myr. We suggest that the present IR luminous phase in this system is due in part to the retrograde spin of IC 694. Finally, we discuss the apparent lack of tidal dwarf galaxies within the tail.

The —rst detection of CO emission in a FanaroU and Riley type II (i.e., edge-brightened radio lobe morphology) radio galaxy is presented. Multiwavelength (0.36¨2.17 km) imaging of 3C 293 shows it to be a disk galaxy with an optical jet or tidal tail extending toward what appears to be a companion galaxy 28 kpc away via a low surface brightness envelope. The molecular gas appears to be distributed in an asymmetric disk rotating around an unresolved continuum source, which is presumably emission from the active galactic nucleus (AGN). A narrow km s~1) absorption feature is also (*v abs D 60 observed in the CO spectrum and is coincident with the continuum source. Assuming the standard CO conversion factor, the molecular gas mass is calculated to be 1.5 ) 1010 several times the (H 2 ) M _ , molecular gas mass of the Milky Way. The high concentration of molecular gas within the central 3 kpc of 3C 293, combined with the multiwavelength morphological peculiarities, supports the idea that the radio activity has been triggered by a gas-rich galaxy-galaxy interaction or merger event. Subject headings: galaxies: activegalaxies: individual (3C 293) ¨ galaxies: ISM ¨ infrared: galaxiesISM: moleculesradio lines: galaxies

We present continuum-free Hα images of the remarkable Wolf-Rayet galaxy He 2-10. There are extensive low surface brightness structures of ionized gas around He 2-10, including several shells, a possible supershell, and a small, isolated Hα clump. The clump is well outside the body of the galaxy and coincides with a CO feature at the end of the galaxy's tidal tail. We believe the clump to be a small star cluster, containing about 100 O stars. This cluster may be the analog on a smaller scale of the dwarf galaxies formed at the end of the tidal tails in the NGC 4038/4039 merger.

We investigated the stellar density substructures around four metal-poor globular clusters (NGC 6266, NGC 6626, NGC 6642, and NGC 6723) in the Galactic bulge. Wide-field near-infrared (JHKs) imaging data were obtained from WFCAM of UKIRT telescope. Field stars contamination around the globular clusters was reduced by using a statistical weighted filtering algorithm. Tidal stripping stellar substructures in the form of tidal tail (NGC 6266 and NGC 6626) or small density lobes/chunk (NGC 6642 and NGC 6723) were found around the four globular clusters in the two-dimensional density contour maps. We also find the overdensity features, which deviate from the theoretical models, in the outer region of radial density profiles. The observed results imply that the four globular clusters have experienced a strong tidal force or the bulge/disk shock effect of the Galaxy.

Deep Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera (WFC-1) imaging of a region 37 east of the V = 13 mag Seyfert galaxy NGC 5548 in the F555W and F785LP bands, and deep ground-based V and I imaging, show a new extended, blue, low surface brightness structure, apparently a remnant of a tidal interaction associated with NGC 5548. If this straight, low surface brightness (V ~ 27–28 mag arcsec-2) tidal tail is associated with NGC 5548, it extends at least 80 kpc from it and has an absolute magnitude of MV ≈ -16.4 (H0 = 65 km s-1 Mpc-1). Previous imaging surveys of Seyfert galaxies would have missed such low surface brightness tails. Morphologically similar to some brighter tails seen in other interacting systems and in simulations of merging galaxies, this faint tail is a useful diagnostic of an earlier interaction and of the progenitors' halo-to-disk mass ratios. Luminous ripples and a brighter tail wrapped around the galaxy are seen in the inner 1–10 kpc region. Unresolved blue objects in the long tail have the colors and absolute magnitudes of young globular clusters. Taken together, the two tails and other features suggest that two spirals merged less than ≈1 Gyr ago. The inner luminosity profile of NGC 5548 is a good fit to a de Vaucouleurs profile with reff = 5.8 kpc. Recent simulations of merged galaxies with high-mass halos fail to form lasting tidal tails, suggesting that the NGC 5548 progenitor spirals had modest halo masses.

We present the results of adaptive-optics imaging of the z=0.2923 QSO PG 1700+518 in the J and H bands. The extension to the north of the QSO is clearly seen to be a discrete companion with a well-defined tidal tail, rather than a feature associated with the host galaxy of PG 1700+518 itself. On the other hand, an extension to the southwest of the QSO (seen best in deeper, but lower-resolution, optical images) does likely comprise tidal material from the host galaxy. The SED derived from images in J, H, and two non-standard optical bands indicates the presence of dust intermixed with the stellar component. We use our previously reported Keck spectrum of the companion, the SED found from the imaging data, and updated spectral-synthesis models to constrain the stellar populations in the companion and to redetermine the age of the starburst. While our best-fit age of 0.085 Gyr is nearly the same as our earlier determination, the fit of the new models is considerably better. This age is found to be remarkably robust with respect to different assumptions about the nature of the older stellar component and the effects of dust., Comment: 11 pages; includes two eps figures. Latex (AASTEX). Two additional figures in gif format. Postscript version including all figs. (424 kb) can be obtained from http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/~canaguby/preprints.html To appear in ApJ. Letters

Deep CCD images of the Leo Triplet in the B and I bands were obtained with the Burrell-Schmidt telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to study the ~80 kpc stellar tail, or "plume," extending from NGC 3628, which resulted from the tidal effects of its companion galaxies NGC 3627 and NGC 3623. This plume consists of clumpy star formation regions that are near previously measured high-resolution H I peaks. Comparison of our B-I colors and B luminosities with star cluster evolution models indicates star-forming ages of a few times 108 years and complex masses of 106 M☉, corresponding to a star formation efficiency of 3% overall in the plume, or about 26% at the H I peaks.

NGC 4485 and NGC 4490 are closely interacting spiral galaxies in the NGC 4631 Group, separated by a projected distance of 7.7 kpc. Images in the B and I bands were obtained with the Burrell Schmidt telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory in order to study star-forming regions in their tidal features, including a previously undetected faint tail whose color matches that of the outer disk in NGC 4490. A comparison of the tidal morphology with published simulations suggests that this is a prograde encounter with perigalacticon about 4 × 108 yr ago. This time is approximately the age of the youngest regions in the tail, based on a comparison of observed B - I colors with evolutionary models. Calculations of the Q instability parameter using a rotation curve derived from published H I observations support the conclusion that the tail is currently stable against star formation.

We examine the effect of different dark matter halo potentials on the morphology and kinematics of tidal tails in a merger model of NGC 7252. We find that models of merging galaxies with low halo masses of Mh ~ 4-8 Mdisk+bulge (Mdb) can fit the observed morphology and kinematics of the NGC 7252 tails, while galaxies with high-mass halos (Mh ~ 16-32 Mdb) fail in this respect. In high-mass models, the deep potential only allows weakly bound disk material (stars or gas) at R 5 disk scale lengths to be ejected in tidal tails that tend to fall back onto the parent galaxies before the final merger. Galaxies with massive, low-density halos are somewhat more successful at ejecting tidal debris during mergers, but they still have difficulties recreating the thin, gas-rich tails observed in NGC 7252. Our models suggest upper limits for the dark halo masses in the NGC 7252 progenitor galaxies of roughly Mh 10 Mdb. We note, however, that our calculations have focused on the rather idealized case of the isolated merging of galaxies with distinct dark matter halos; calculations that employ more realistic (cosmological) initial conditions are needed to fully explore the use of tidal tails in constraining dark matter in galaxies.

We present optical and archival X-ray data on the disturbed-morphology radio elliptical galaxy NGC 1316 (Fornax A), which displays numerous low surface brightness shells, loops, and tails. An extended (81'' × 27'', or 9 kpc × 3 kpc) emission-line region (EELR) at a projected distance of 35 kpc from the nucleus has been discovered in an approximately 90 kpc × 35 kpc, 3.0 × 109 LB⊙ tidal tail. The position and extreme size of the EELR suggest that it is related to the merger process. We suggest that the ionization mechanism of the EELR is shock excitation and that the gas is a remnant from the merger progenitor. X-ray emission is detected near two tidal tails. Hot, ~5 × 106 K, gas is probably the predominant gas component in the tidal-tail interstellar medium. However, based on the current tidal-tail (cold + warm + hot) gas mass, a large fraction of the progenitor gas may already reside in the nucleus of NGC 1316. The numerous and varied tidal-tail system suggests that a disk-disk or disk-E merger could have taken place ≥1 Gyr ago, while a low-mass, gas-rich galaxy would have started to merge ~0.5 Gyr ago.

Using Data Release 4 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we have applied an optimal contrast, matched filter technique to trace the trailing tidal tail of the globular cluster Palomar 5 to a distance of 18.5 degrees from the center of the cluster. This more than doubles the total known length of the tail to some 22 degrees on the sky. Based on a simple model of the Galaxy, we find that the stream's orientation on the sky is consistent at the 1.7 sigma level with existing proper motion measurements. We find that a spherical Galactic halo is adequate to model the stream over its currently known length, and we are able to place new constraints on the current space motion of the cluster.

Using absolute proper motions derived from APM measurements of Tautenburg, Palomar and UK Schmidt plates (cf. Scholz et al. 1996) we determined membership probabilities of the globular cluster M 5 in a four-dimensional space of proper motions and coordinates. The solution for 19 unknown parameters was obtained by the maximum likelyhood method. Dierent mean absolute proper motions and dispersions were found for three dis- tribution functions of the cluster stars, near eld stars and distant eld stars. In addition to the four-dimensional dis- tribution functions, we also investigated two-dimensional distribution functions including either only the proper mo- tions or only the coordinates. We compared the results with the colour-magnitude diagram obtained from a B;V photographic photometry using two of the Tautenburg plates and with the membership determination of Rees (1993). In comparison to the last work based on observa- tions with larger epoch dierences and better astrometric scale, our results are less accurate but extend the mem- bership investigation of M 5 to fainter stars (B = 19) and to the outer regions of the cluster. The full APM scans of the dierent Schmidt plates were also used for star counts applying a crowding correction in the central cluster re- gion based on the area of crowded images and on the stel- lar luminosity function in the outer cluster region. The tidal radii from tting King proles to the counts of all objects on the plates and of the cluster members are dis- cussed. From the deep counts of the full scans we found an indication of a tidal tail around M 5 (cf. Grillmair et al. 1995). However, this eect was not conrmed by the member counts.

We analyze high angular and velocity resolution HI-line data of two LITTLE THINGS (1) blue compact dwarfs (BCDs): Haro 29 and Haro 36. Both of these BCDs are disturbed morphologically and kinematically. Haro 29's HI data reveal a kinematic major axis that is offset from the optical major axis, and a disturbed outer HI component, indicating that Haro 29 may have had a past interaction. Position-velocity diagrams of Haro 36 indicate that it has two kinematically separate components at its center and a likely tidal tail in front of the galaxy. We find that Haro 36 most likely had an interaction in the past, is currently interacting with an unknown companion, or is a merger remnant. (1) "Local Irregulars That Trace Luminosity Extremes The HI Nearby Galaxy Survey" http://www2.lowell.edu/users/dah/littlethings/index.html, To be published in The Astronomical Journal

The recent discovery by Ibata et al. (2013) of a vast thin disk of satellites (VTDS) around M31 offers a new challenge for the understanding of the Local Group properties. This comes in addition to the unexpected proximity of the Magellanic Clouds (MCs) to the Milky Way (MW), and to another vast polar structure (VPOS), which is almost perpendicular to our Galaxy disk. We find that the VTDS plane is coinciding with several stellar, tidally-induced streams in the outskirts of M31, and, that its velocity distribution is consistent with that of the Giant Stream (GS). This is suggestive of a common physical mechanism, likely linked to merger tidal interactions, knowing that a similar argument may apply to the VPOS at the MW location. Furthermore, the VTDS is pointing towards the MW, being almost perpendicular to the MW disk, as the VPOS is. We compare these properties to the modelling of M31 as an ancient, gas-rich major merger, which has been successfully used to predict the M31 substructures and the GS origin. We find that without fine tuning, the induced tidal tails are lying in the VTDS plane, providing a single and common origin for many stellar streams and for the vast stellar structures surrounding both the MW and M31. The model also reproduces quite accurately positions and velocities of the VTDS dSphs. Our conjecture leads to a novel interpretation of the Local Group past history, as a gigantic tidal tail due to the M31 ancient merger is expected to send material towards the MW, including the MCs. Such a link between M31 and the MW is expected to be quite exceptional, though it may be in qualitative agreement with the reported rareness of MW-MCs systems in nearby galaxies., Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 8 pages, 3 figures

We present a large parameter study where we investigate the structure of white dwarf (WD) merger remnants after the dynamical phase. A wide range of WD masses and compositions are explored and we also probe the effect of different initial conditions. We investigated the degree of mixing between the WDs, the conditions for detonations as well as the amount of gas ejected. We find that systems with lower mass ratios have more total angular momentum and as a result more mass is flung out in a tidal tail. Nuclear burning can affect the amount of mass ejected. Many WD binaries that contain a helium-rich WD achieve the conditions to trigger a detonation. In contrast, for carbon-oxygen transferring systems only the most massive mergers with a total mass above ~2.1 solar masses detonate. Even systems with lower mass may detonate long after the merger if the remnant remains above the Chandrasekhar mass and carbon is ignited at the centre. Finally, our findings are discussed in the context of several possible observed astrophysical events and stellar systems, such as hot subdwarfs, R Coronae Borealis stars, single massive white dwarfs, supernovae of type Ia and other transient events. A large database containing 225 white dwarf merger remnants is made available via a dedicated web page., Comment: 23 pages, 15 figures, submitted to MNRAS. A database containing 225 WD merger remnants is available for download at http://www.hs.uni-hamburg.de/DE/Ins/Per/Dan/wdwd_remnants.html

Aims. The magnetic fields of the member galaxies NGC 3628 and NGC 3627 show morphological peculiarities, suggesting that interactions within the group may be caused by stripping of the magnetic field. This process could supply the intergalactic space with magnetised material, a scenario considered as a possible source of intergalactic magnetic fields (as seen eg. in the Taffy pairs of galaxies). Additionally, the plumes are likely to be the tidal dwarf galaxy candidates. Methods. We performed radio continuum mapping observations at 2.64 GHz using the 100-m Effelsberg radio telescope. We obtained total power and polarised intensity maps of the Triplet. These maps were analysed together with the archive data, and the magnetic field strength (as well as the magnetic energy density) was estimated. Results. Extended emission was not detected either in the total power or the polarised intensity maps. We obtained upper limits of the magnetic field strength and the energy density of the magnetic field in the Triplet. We detected emission from the easternmost clump and determined the strength of its magnetic field. In addition, we measured integrated fluxes of the member galaxies at 2.64 GHz and estimated their total magnetic field strengths. Conclusions. We found that the tidal tail hosts a tidal dwarf galaxy candidate that possesses a detectable magnetic field with a non-zero ordered component. Extended radio continuum emission, if present, is weaker than the reached confusion limit. The total magnetic field strength does not exceed 2.8 {\mu}G and the ordered component is lower than 1.6 {\mu}G., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy&Astrophysics

We studied the structure of two old open clusters, NGC 1245 and NGC 2506, from a wide and deep VI photometry data acquired using the CFH12K CCD camera at CFHT. We devised a new method for assigning cluster membership probability to individual stars using both spatial positions and positions in the colour-magnitude diagram. From analyses of the luminosity functions at several cluster-centric radii and the radial surface density profiles derived from stars with different luminosity ranges, we found that the two clusters are dynamically relaxed to drive significant mass segregation and evaporation of some fraction of low-mass stars. There seems to be a signature of tidal tail in NGC 1245 but the signal is too low to be confirmed., Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures

Black hole-neutron star (BHNS) binaries are important sources of gravitational waves for second-generation interferometers, and BHNS mergers are also a proposed engine for short, hard gamma-ray bursts. The behavior of both the spacetime (and thus the emitted gravitational waves) and the neutron star matter in a BHNS merger depend strongly and nonlinearly on the black hole's spin. While there is a significant possibility that astrophysical black holes could have spins that are nearly extremal (i.e. near the theoretical maximum), to date fully relativistic simulations of BHNS binaries have included black-hole spins only up to $S/M^2$=0.9, which corresponds to the black hole having approximately half as much rotational energy as possible, given the black hole's mass. In this paper, we present a new simulation of a BHNS binary with a mass ratio $q=3$ and black-hole spin $S/M^2$=0.97, the highest simulated to date. We find that the black hole's large spin leads to the most massive accretion disk and the largest tidal tail outflow of any fully relativistic BHNS simulations to date, even exceeding the results implied by extrapolating results from simulations with lower black-hole spin. The disk appears to be remarkably stable. We also find that the high black-hole spin persists until shortly before the time of merger; afterwards, both merger and accretion spin down the black hole., Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity

We present an observational study of the interaction effect on the dynamics and morphology of the minor merger AM1219-430. This work is based on r' and g' images and long-slit spectra obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph at the Gemini South Telescope. We detected a tidal tail in the main galaxy (AM1219A) and a bridge of material connecting the galaxies. In luminosity, AM1219A is about 3.8 times brighter than the secondary (AM1219B). The surface brightness profile of AM1219A was decomposed into bulge and disc components. The profile shows a light excess of ~ 53 % due to the contribution of star-forming regions, which is typical of starburst galaxies. On the other hand, the surface brightness profile of AM1219B shows a lens structure in addition to the bulge and disc. The scale lengths and central magnitudes of the disc structure of both galaxies agree with the average values derived for galaxies with no sign of ongoing interaction or disturbed morphology. The S��rsic index (n, 13 pages, 11 figures

We present an analysis of new observations of a peculiar galaxy PGC 60020, obtained with the 6-m BTA telescope of the SAO RAS with a multimode SCORPIO instrument. The observational data includes direct images in the B, V, Rc photometric bands and long-slit spectra in the red range (the Ha line spectral region). Based on the analysis of these data it was found that PGC 60020 belongs to the type of classical polar-ring galaxies. Its main body is an S0 galaxy, around the major axis of which a disk of gas, dust and stars is rotating in the plane inclined at an angle of about 60 degrees to the galactic plane. A loop-shaped structure stretches from the southern part of this disk (possibly, a tidal tail) towards the SDSS J171745.58+404137.1 galaxy., Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures

Determining the final result of black hole-neutron star mergers, and in particular the amount of matter remaining outside the black hole at late times and its properties, has been one of the main motivations behind the numerical simulation of these systems. Black hole-neutron star binaries are amongst the most likely progenitors of short gamma-ray bursts --- as long as massive (probably a few percents of a solar mass), hot accretion disks are formed around the black hole. Whether this actually happens strongly depends on the physical characteristics of the system, and in particular on the mass ratio, the spin of the black hole, and the radius of the neutron star. We present here a simple two-parameter model, fitted to existing numerical results, for the determination of the mass remaining outside the black hole a few milliseconds after a black hole-neutron star merger (i.e. the combined mass of the accretion disk, the tidal tail, and the potential ejecta). This model predicts the remnant mass within a few percents of the mass of the neutron star, at least for remnant masses up to 20% of the neutron star mass. Results across the range of parameters deemed to be the most likely astrophysically are presented here. We find that, for 10 solar mass black holes, massive disks are only possible for large neutron stars (R>12km), or quasi-extremal black hole spins (a/M>0.9). We also use our model to discuss how the equation of state of the neutron star affects the final remnant, and the strong influence that this can have on the rate of short gamma-ray bursts produced by black hole-neutron star mergers., 11 pages, 7 figures

We present upper limits on the local ionizing background based on a search for extended Hα emission from three nearby intergalactic H I clouds: the Leo Ring (M96 group), both the NE and SW lobes of the Haynes-Giovanelli Virgo Cloud (H I 1225+01), and the H I tidal tails associated with the NGC 4631/4656 group. These clouds were chosen to have 21 cm emission that is extended (10-100 kpc) and distant from any associated galaxy. Deep, wide-field CCD images were acquired through narrow- (~31 A) and broadband R filters with the Burrell Schmidt telescope on Kitt Peak. We set a 95% confidence upper limit on the Hα surface brightness for the areas of the clouds detected in H I of 1.6 × 10-19 ergs s-1 cm-2 arcsec-2 in Leo and of 3.7 × 10-19 ergs s-1 cm-2 arcsec-2 in Virgo. We limit the local ionizing background to Φ0 < 5.0 × 103 photons s-1 cm-2 sr-1 (95%) at the location of the Leo Ring cloud and Φ0 < 1.1 × 104 photons s-1 cm-2 sr-1 at the Virgo cloud, assuming spherical clouds. (Limits are a factor of 2 higher for a thin face-on slab.) The limits correspond to J0 < 3.3 × 10-23 and 7.6 × 10-23 ergs s-1 cm-2 sr-1 Hz-1 for a ν-1/2 spectrum (1.6 times higher for a ν-1.4 spectrum) between 1 and 4 ryd. Such low limits suggest that quasar light, and not galactic light, dominates the ionizing background at low redshift. The Hα limit on the Leo cloud is significantly below a previously reported detection. In the field of the edge-on galaxies NGC 4631 and NGC 4656, we detect Hα from ionized gas extending nearly 16 kpc above N4631, which could have been blown out by starburst activity in the plane, and a low surface brightness companion or stellar tidal tail. This companion lies between N4631's H I tidal tails and may have played a role in creating the H I tidal tails, or it may represent star formation within the tidal tails. We also report the tentative detection of an ultrafaint sheet of Hα emission extending from NGC 4631 to NGC 4656.

We investigated a scenario in which M31 could be the remnant of a gas-rich major merger. Galaxy merger simulations, highly constrained by observations, were run using GADGET 2 in order to reproduce M31. We succeeded in reproducing the global shape of M31, the thin disk and the bulge, and in addition some of the main M31 large-scale features, such as the thick disk, the 10kpc ring and the Giant Stream. This lead to a new explanation of the Giant Stream which could be caused by tidal tail stars that have been captured by the galaxy potential., Comment: Proceedings for the conference "Assembling the puzzle of the Milky Way", 2 pages

While major mergers and their tidal debris are well studied, they are less common than minor mergers (mass ratios < 0.3). The peculiar spiral NGC 2782 is the result of a merger between two disk galaxies with a mass ratio of ~4:1 occurring ~200 Myr ago. This merger produced a molecular and H I-rich, optically bright eastern tail and an H I-rich, optically faint western tail. Non-detection of CO in the western tail by Braine et al. suggested that star formation had not yet begun to occur in that tidal tail. However, deep H{\alpha} narrowband images show evidence of recent star formation in the western tail. Across the entire western tail, we find the global star formation rate per unit area ({\Sigma}SFR) to be several orders of magnitude less than expected from the total gas density. Together with extended FUV+NUV emission from Galaxy Evolution Explorer along the tail, this indicates a low global star formation efficiency in the tidal tail producing lower mass star clusters. The H II region that we observed has a local (few-kiloparsec scale) {\Sigma}SFR from H{\alpha} that is less than that expected from the total gas density, which is consistent with other observations of tidal debris. The star formation efficiency of this H II region inferred from the total gas density is low, but normal when inferred from the molecular gas density. These results suggest the presence of a very small, locally dense region in the western tail of NGC 2782 or of a low-metallicity and/or low-pressure star-forming region., Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures

We present observations of the molecular gas in the GN20 proto-cluster of galaxies at $z =4.05$ using the Expanded Very Large Array (EVLA). This group of galaxies is the ideal laboratory for studying the formation of massive galaxies via luminous, gas-rich starbursts within 1.6 Gyr of the Big Bang. We detect three galaxies in the proto-cluster in CO 2-1 emission, with gas masses (H$_2$) between $10^{10}$ and $10^{11} \times (\alpha/0.8)$ M$_\odot$. The emission from the brightest source, GN20, is resolved with a size $\sim 2"$, and has a clear north-south velocity gradient, possibly indicating ordered rotation. The gas mass in GN20 is comparable to the stellar mass ($1.3\times 10^{11} \times (\alpha/0.8)$ M$_\odot$ and $2.3\times 10^{11}$ M$_\odot$, respectively), and the sum of gas plus stellar mass is comparable to the dynamical mass of the system ($\sim 3.4\times 10^{11} [sin(i)/sin(45^o)]^{-2}$ M$_\odot$), within a 5kpc radius. There is also evidence for a tidal tail extending another $2"$ north of the galaxy with a narrow velocity dispersion. GN20 may be a massive, gas rich disk that is gravitationally disturbed, but not completely disrupted. There is one Lyman-break galaxy (BD29079) in the GN20 proto-cluster with an optical spectroscopic redshift within our search volume, and we set a 3$\sigma$ limit to the molecular gas mass of this galaxy of $1.1\times 10^{10} \times (\alpha/0.8)$ M$_\odot$.

We present the results of our analysis of the geometrical tidal tail characteristics for nearby and distant interacting galaxies. The sample includes more than two hundred nearby galaxies and about seven hundred distant ones. The distant galaxies have been selected in several deep fields of the Hubble Space Telescope (HDF-N, HDF-S, HUDF, GOODS, GEMS) and they are at mean redshift z=0.65. We analyze the distributions of lengths and thicknesses for the tidal structures and show that the tails in distant galaxies are shorter than those in nearby ones. This effect can be partly attributed to observational selection effects, but, on the other hand, it may result from the general evolution of the sizes of spiral galaxies wih z. The location of interacting galaxies on the galaxy luminosity ($L$) -- tidal tail length ($l$) plane are shown to be explained by a simple geometrical model, with the upper envelope of the observed distribution being $l \propto \sqrt{L}$. We have solved the problem on the relationship between the observed distribution of tail flattening and the tail length in angular measure by assuming the tidal tails to be arcs of circumferences visible at arbitrary angles to the line of sight. We conclude that the angular length of the tidal tails visually distinguished in nearby and distant galaxies, on average, exceeds 180 degrees., 8 pages, 7 figures; Astron.Lett. vol.37, 2011

We present an implementation of the matched-filter technique to detect tidal tails of globular clusters. The method was tested using SDSS data for the globular cluster Palomar 5 revealing its well known tidal tails. We also ran a simulation of a globular cluster with a tidal tail where we successfully recover the tails for a cluster at the same position and with the same characteristics of NGC 2298. Based on the simulation we estimate that the matched-filter increases the contrast of the tail relative to the background of stars by a factor of 2.5 for the case of NGC 2298. We also present the photometry of the globular cluster NGC 2298 using the MOSAIC2 camera installed on the CTIO 4m telescope. The photometry covers ~ 3deg2 reaching V ~ 23. A fit of a King profile to the radial density profile of NGC 2298 shows that this cluster has a tidal radius of 15.91' \pm 1.07' which is twice as in the literature. The application of the matched-filter to NGC 2298 reveals several extra-tidal structures, including a leading and trailing tail. We also find that NGC 2298 has extra-tidal structures stretching towards and against the Galactic disk, suggesting strong tidal interaction. Finally, we assess how the matched-filter performs when applied to a globular cluster with and without mass segregation taken into account. We find that disregarding the effects of mass segregation may significantly reduce the detection limit of the matched-filter.