Caught in the Cosmic Web: Evidence for Ram-Pressure Stripping of a Low-Mass Galaxy by the Cosmic Web
Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: We present interferometric radio observations of the neutral atomic gas in AGC 727130, a low-mass, gas-rich, field galaxy lacking significant star-formation. The atomic gas in AGC 727130 displays a pronounced asymmetry, extending well beyond the stellar disk in one direction while remaining relatively undisturbed in the other. Despite proximity to a pair of interacting dwarfs, tidal analysis suggests these neighboring galaxies are not responsible for this pronounced asymmetry. Instead, using a topological cosmic web filament finder on spectroscopic catalogue data, we find AGC 727130 lies at the intersection of several large-scale cosmic web filaments, environments predicted to host diffuse, shock-heated gas. We propose that an interaction with this ambient medium is stripping gas from the galaxy via cosmic web ram-pressure stripping. This mechanism, supported by recent simulations, may quench low-mass galaxies outside of massive halos, and must be accounted for when comparing observed numbers of dwarf galaxies to theoretical predictions.
Source: arXiv (Cornell University)
Authors: Luber, Nicholas, Stierwalt, Sabrina, Privon, George C., Besla, Gurtina, Johnson, Kelsey E., Kallivayalil, Nitya, Patton, David R., Putman, Mary, Zhu, Jingyao
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7083075864
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