MUSE-ALMA haloes XIII: kinematics and stellar properties of tidal features associated with gas-rich galaxies
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: ABSTRACT Interactions between galaxies and their circumgalactic medium (CGM) can be observationally traced by extended tidal-like features. Interacting absorption-selected galaxies are galaxies that exhibit diffuse extended structures such as tidal features due to gravitational influence of other galaxies, and are associated with quasar absorbers. We report an analysis of 17 interacting galaxies associated with either H i or Mg ii absorbers and their tidal features at 0.1$\lesssim$z$\lesssim$ 0.6 selected from a total sample of 3658 galaxies. These were detected in Hubble Space Telescope and Very Large Telescope (VLT) Multi-Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) observations and spectroscopically confirmed to be associated with strong intervening quasar absorbers. We estimated stellar masses ($M_{*}$) of the tidal structures from spectral energy distribution fits and analysed the kinematics of these structures using emission lines detected in the MUSE data. Our main findings are as follows: (1) Interacting absorbing galaxies exhibiting tidal features have enhanced star formation rates (SFRs), specific star formation rates (sSFRs), SFR surface densities, dust reddening, while exhibiting comparable emission metallicities to absorbing galaxies without tidal interactions. (2) The tidal features have higher sSFRs but lower SFRs and lower dust reddening than their host galaxies. (3) There is no significant difference in Mg ii $\lambda$ 2796 rest-frame equivalent width between interacting and non-interacting absorbing galaxies. However, absorbing galaxies with tidal features are more massive and are located at greater distances from quasar sightlines, possibly tracing more extended CGM. Together, these results highlight the CGM’s influence traced by tidal features on the stellar and kinematic properties of the interacting absorbing galaxies.
Institutions: University of South Carolina, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université, Laboratoire d’Astrophysique de Marseille, European Southern Observatory, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics Potsdam, University of Bonn, Stockholm University, AlbaNova, Swinburne University of Technology
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,046
OpenAlex ID: W7166323861