The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field

G. I. G. Józsa; T. H. Jarrett; M. E. Cluver; O. I. Wong; O. Havenga; H. F. M. Yao; L. Marchetti; E. N. Taylor; P. Kamphuis; F. M. MacCagni; A. J. T. Ramaila; P. Serra; O. M. Smirnov; S. V. White; V. Kilborn; B. W. Holwerda; A. M. Hopkins; S. Brough; K. A. Pimbblet; S. P. Driver; K. Kuijken

doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b

The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field

G. I. G. Józsa, T. H. Jarrett, M. E. Cluver, O. I. Wong, O. Havenga, H. F. M. Yao, L. Marchetti, E. N. Taylor, P. Kamphuis, F. M. MacCagni, A. J. T. Ramaila, P. Serra, O. M. Smirnov, S. V. White, V. Kilborn, B. W. Holwerda, A. M. Hopkins, S. Brough, K. A. Pimbblet, S. P. DriverK. Kuijken

Western Sydney University

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Abstract

We report on the detection of a large, extended H i cloud complex in the Galaxy and Mass Survey G23 field, located at a redshift of z ∼0.03, observed as part of the MeerKAT Habitat of Galaxies Survey campaign (a pilot survey to explore the mosaicing capabilities of the MeerKAT telescope). The cloud complex, with a total mass of 1010.0 M, lies in proximity to a large galaxy group with M dyn ∼1013.5 M. We identify seven H peak concentrations, interconnected as a tenuous chain structure, extending ∼400 kpc from east to west, with the largest (central) concentration containing 109.7 M in H gas distributed across 50 kpc. The main source is not detected in ultraviolet, optical, or infrared imaging. The implied gas mass-to-light ratio (M H I/L r) is extreme (>1000) even in comparison to other dark clouds. The complex has very little kinematic structure (110 km s-1), making it difficult to identify cloud rotation. Assuming pressure support, the total mass of the central concentration is > 1010.2 M, while a lower limit to the dynamical mass in the case of full rotational support is 1010.4 M. If the central concentration is a stable structure, it has to contain some amount of unseen matter, but potentially less than is observed for a typical galaxy. It is, however, not clear whether the structure has any gravitationally stable concentrations. We report a faint UV-optical-infrared source in proximity to one of the smaller concentrations in the gas complex, leading to a possible stellar association. The system nature and origins is enigmatic, potentially being the result of an interaction with or within the galaxy group it appears to be associated with.

Original language	English
Article number	167
Number of pages	19
Journal	Astrophysical Journal
Volume	926
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b
Publication status	Published - 2022

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© 2022. The Author(s). Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.

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Józsa, G. I. G., Jarrett, T. H., Cluver, M. E., Wong, O. I., Havenga, O., Yao, H. F. M., Marchetti, L., Taylor, E. N., Kamphuis, P., MacCagni, F. M., Ramaila, A. J. T., Serra, P., Smirnov, O. M., White, S. V., Kilborn, V., Holwerda, B. W., Hopkins, A. M., Brough, S., Pimbblet, K. A., ... Kuijken, K. (2022). The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field. Astrophysical Journal, 926(2), Article 167. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b

@article{e5f02940da3044548157d8920965bd38,

title = "The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field",

abstract = "We report on the detection of a large, extended H i cloud complex in the Galaxy and Mass Survey G23 field, located at a redshift of z ∼0.03, observed as part of the MeerKAT Habitat of Galaxies Survey campaign (a pilot survey to explore the mosaicing capabilities of the MeerKAT telescope). The cloud complex, with a total mass of 1010.0 M, lies in proximity to a large galaxy group with M dyn ∼1013.5 M. We identify seven H peak concentrations, interconnected as a tenuous chain structure, extending ∼400 kpc from east to west, with the largest (central) concentration containing 109.7 M in H gas distributed across 50 kpc. The main source is not detected in ultraviolet, optical, or infrared imaging. The implied gas mass-to-light ratio (M H I/L r) is extreme (>1000) even in comparison to other dark clouds. The complex has very little kinematic structure (110 km s-1), making it difficult to identify cloud rotation. Assuming pressure support, the total mass of the central concentration is > 1010.2 M, while a lower limit to the dynamical mass in the case of full rotational support is 1010.4 M. If the central concentration is a stable structure, it has to contain some amount of unseen matter, but potentially less than is observed for a typical galaxy. It is, however, not clear whether the structure has any gravitationally stable concentrations. We report a faint UV-optical-infrared source in proximity to one of the smaller concentrations in the gas complex, leading to a possible stellar association. The system nature and origins is enigmatic, potentially being the result of an interaction with or within the galaxy group it appears to be associated with.",

author = "J{\'o}zsa, {G. I. G.} and Jarrett, {T. H.} and Cluver, {M. E.} and Wong, {O. I.} and O. Havenga and Yao, {H. F. M.} and L. Marchetti and Taylor, {E. N.} and P. Kamphuis and MacCagni, {F. M.} and Ramaila, {A. J. T.} and P. Serra and Smirnov, {O. M.} and White, {S. V.} and V. Kilborn and Holwerda, {B. W.} and Hopkins, {A. M.} and S. Brough and Pimbblet, {K. A.} and Driver, {S. P.} and K. Kuijken",

year = "2022",

doi = "10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b",

language = "English",

volume = "926",

journal = "Astrophysical Journal",

issn = "0004-637X",

publisher = "Institute of Physics Publishing",

number = "2",

}

Józsa, GIG, Jarrett, TH, Cluver, ME, Wong, OI, Havenga, O, Yao, HFM, Marchetti, L, Taylor, EN, Kamphuis, P, MacCagni, FM, Ramaila, AJT, Serra, P, Smirnov, OM, White, SV, Kilborn, V, Holwerda, BW, Hopkins, AM, Brough, S, Pimbblet, KA, Driver, SP & Kuijken, K 2022, 'The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field', Astrophysical Journal, vol. 926, no. 2, 167. https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b

TY - JOUR

T1 - The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field

AU - Józsa, G. I. G.

AU - Jarrett, T. H.

AU - Cluver, M. E.

AU - Wong, O. I.

AU - Havenga, O.

AU - Yao, H. F. M.

AU - Marchetti, L.

AU - Taylor, E. N.

AU - Kamphuis, P.

AU - MacCagni, F. M.

AU - Ramaila, A. J. T.

AU - Serra, P.

AU - Smirnov, O. M.

AU - White, S. V.

AU - Kilborn, V.

AU - Holwerda, B. W.

AU - Hopkins, A. M.

AU - Brough, S.

AU - Pimbblet, K. A.

AU - Driver, S. P.

AU - Kuijken, K.

PY - 2022

Y1 - 2022

N2 - We report on the detection of a large, extended H i cloud complex in the Galaxy and Mass Survey G23 field, located at a redshift of z ∼0.03, observed as part of the MeerKAT Habitat of Galaxies Survey campaign (a pilot survey to explore the mosaicing capabilities of the MeerKAT telescope). The cloud complex, with a total mass of 1010.0 M, lies in proximity to a large galaxy group with M dyn ∼1013.5 M. We identify seven H peak concentrations, interconnected as a tenuous chain structure, extending ∼400 kpc from east to west, with the largest (central) concentration containing 109.7 M in H gas distributed across 50 kpc. The main source is not detected in ultraviolet, optical, or infrared imaging. The implied gas mass-to-light ratio (M H I/L r) is extreme (>1000) even in comparison to other dark clouds. The complex has very little kinematic structure (110 km s-1), making it difficult to identify cloud rotation. Assuming pressure support, the total mass of the central concentration is > 1010.2 M, while a lower limit to the dynamical mass in the case of full rotational support is 1010.4 M. If the central concentration is a stable structure, it has to contain some amount of unseen matter, but potentially less than is observed for a typical galaxy. It is, however, not clear whether the structure has any gravitationally stable concentrations. We report a faint UV-optical-infrared source in proximity to one of the smaller concentrations in the gas complex, leading to a possible stellar association. The system nature and origins is enigmatic, potentially being the result of an interaction with or within the galaxy group it appears to be associated with.

AB - We report on the detection of a large, extended H i cloud complex in the Galaxy and Mass Survey G23 field, located at a redshift of z ∼0.03, observed as part of the MeerKAT Habitat of Galaxies Survey campaign (a pilot survey to explore the mosaicing capabilities of the MeerKAT telescope). The cloud complex, with a total mass of 1010.0 M, lies in proximity to a large galaxy group with M dyn ∼1013.5 M. We identify seven H peak concentrations, interconnected as a tenuous chain structure, extending ∼400 kpc from east to west, with the largest (central) concentration containing 109.7 M in H gas distributed across 50 kpc. The main source is not detected in ultraviolet, optical, or infrared imaging. The implied gas mass-to-light ratio (M H I/L r) is extreme (>1000) even in comparison to other dark clouds. The complex has very little kinematic structure (110 km s-1), making it difficult to identify cloud rotation. Assuming pressure support, the total mass of the central concentration is > 1010.2 M, while a lower limit to the dynamical mass in the case of full rotational support is 1010.4 M. If the central concentration is a stable structure, it has to contain some amount of unseen matter, but potentially less than is observed for a typical galaxy. It is, however, not clear whether the structure has any gravitationally stable concentrations. We report a faint UV-optical-infrared source in proximity to one of the smaller concentrations in the gas complex, leading to a possible stellar association. The system nature and origins is enigmatic, potentially being the result of an interaction with or within the galaxy group it appears to be associated with.

UR - https://hdl.handle.net/1959.7/uws:75584

U2 - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b

DO - 10.3847/1538-4357/ac402b

M3 - Article

SN - 0004-637X

VL - 926

JO - Astrophysical Journal

JF - Astrophysical Journal

IS - 2

M1 - 167

ER -

The detection of a massive chain of dark H I clouds in the GAMA G23 field

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