Ram pressure stripping (RPS) can be described as the constant wind a galaxy experiences when moving through a galaxy cluster. It is well-established that galaxies
undergoing this process lose substantial amounts of their atomic gas, but its effect on
the cold molecular gas component is still not fully understood. Using high-resolution
ALMA CO 2-1 data collected by the PHANGS and VERTICO surveys, I model the
detailed effect of RPS in 36 Virgo galaxies on a 150 pc and 720 pc scale by calculating
the ratio of ram pressure to the galaxy gravitational restoring force per unit area. If
the ram pressure exceeds the restoring pressure, we assume the molecular gas parcel
is susceptible to stripping. I reveal that roughly a quarter of our 36 galaxies are
susceptible to molecular gas RPS, with up to 70% of their molecular gas in the outer
disk (r > R50) being susceptible. As expected, low mass galaxies (log(M∗/M ) = 9.5)
seem to be most affected. VERTICO galaxies show molecular gas susceptible to stripping at the outskirts and between their spiral arms. I also find higher fractions of RPS
susceptible molecular gas in galaxies exhibiting clear atomic gas tails, suggesting that
RPS impacts multiple gas phases at once. Finally, a phase space analysis suggests
molecular gas RPS occurs primarily, potentially exclusively, at the first pericentric
passage when ram pressure is maximal. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/29969 |
| Date | January 2024 |
| Creators | Greis, Celine |
| Contributors | Wilson, Dr. Christine D., Sun, Dr. Jiayi, Physics and Astronomy |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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