Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers
The morphology of X-ray halos in early-type galaxies depends on key structure assembly processes, such as feedback and mergers. However, the signatures of these processes are difficult to characterize due to their faint and amorphous nature. We demonstrate that the truncation in the temperature prof...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade873 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849420035469082624 |
|---|---|
| author | Nushkia Chamba Pamela M. Marcum Alejandro S. Borlaff Pasquale Temi Aneta Siemiginowska |
| author_facet | Nushkia Chamba Pamela M. Marcum Alejandro S. Borlaff Pasquale Temi Aneta Siemiginowska |
| author_sort | Nushkia Chamba |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The morphology of X-ray halos in early-type galaxies depends on key structure assembly processes, such as feedback and mergers. However, the signatures of these processes are difficult to characterize due to their faint and amorphous nature. We demonstrate that the truncation in the temperature profile of X-ray halos, defined by the radial location of the peak temperature, is significantly more impacted by recent mergers or galaxy interactions than feedback processes. At a fixed stellar mass, a highly asymmetric X-ray halo can be nearly a factor of 10 more truncated than a relaxed one. This analysis led to a discovery of previously unknown asymmetric features in the optical and X-ray halos of three massive galaxies. We detect the intra-group star light and a large ∼45 kpc size stellar stream connected to NGC 0383, suggesting that a recent stellar accretion event has triggered its active galactic nuclei to emit a powerful radio jet. While the disturbed X-ray halo of NGC 1600 is also related to a galaxy-satellite tidal interaction detected in optical imaging, the X-ray shape and asymmetry of NGC 4555 are highly unusual for a galaxy in a low-density environment, requiring further investigation. These results highlight the importance of truncations and deep imaging techniques for untangling the formation of X-ray halos in massive galaxies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e5f7284ab1f24885ae3fbefd8a5a7986 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1538-4357 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Astrophysical Journal |
| spelling | doaj-art-e5f7284ab1f24885ae3fbefd8a5a79862025-08-20T03:31:52ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal1538-43572025-01-01988224910.3847/1538-4357/ade873Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and MergersNushkia Chamba0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1598-5995Pamela M. Marcum1Alejandro S. Borlaff2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3249-4431Pasquale Temi3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8341-342XAneta Siemiginowska4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0905-7375NASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division M.S. 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA ; nushkia.chamba@nasa.govNASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division M.S. 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA ; nushkia.chamba@nasa.govNASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division M.S. 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA ; nushkia.chamba@nasa.gov; Bay Area Environmental Research Institute , Moffett Field, CA 94035, USANASA Ames Research Center , Space Science and Astrobiology Division M.S. 245-6, Moffett Field, CA 94035, USA ; nushkia.chamba@nasa.govHarvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics , 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USAThe morphology of X-ray halos in early-type galaxies depends on key structure assembly processes, such as feedback and mergers. However, the signatures of these processes are difficult to characterize due to their faint and amorphous nature. We demonstrate that the truncation in the temperature profile of X-ray halos, defined by the radial location of the peak temperature, is significantly more impacted by recent mergers or galaxy interactions than feedback processes. At a fixed stellar mass, a highly asymmetric X-ray halo can be nearly a factor of 10 more truncated than a relaxed one. This analysis led to a discovery of previously unknown asymmetric features in the optical and X-ray halos of three massive galaxies. We detect the intra-group star light and a large ∼45 kpc size stellar stream connected to NGC 0383, suggesting that a recent stellar accretion event has triggered its active galactic nuclei to emit a powerful radio jet. While the disturbed X-ray halo of NGC 1600 is also related to a galaxy-satellite tidal interaction detected in optical imaging, the X-ray shape and asymmetry of NGC 4555 are highly unusual for a galaxy in a low-density environment, requiring further investigation. These results highlight the importance of truncations and deep imaging techniques for untangling the formation of X-ray halos in massive galaxies.https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade873Scaling relationsGalaxy radiiCircumgalactic mediumGalaxy environmentsGalaxy mergersEarly-type galaxies |
| spellingShingle | Nushkia Chamba Pamela M. Marcum Alejandro S. Borlaff Pasquale Temi Aneta Siemiginowska Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers The Astrophysical Journal Scaling relations Galaxy radii Circumgalactic medium Galaxy environments Galaxy mergers Early-type galaxies |
| title | Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers |
| title_full | Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers |
| title_fullStr | Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers |
| title_short | Truncations in the X-Ray Halos of Early-type Galaxies as a Tracer of Feedback and Mergers |
| title_sort | truncations in the x ray halos of early type galaxies as a tracer of feedback and mergers |
| topic | Scaling relations Galaxy radii Circumgalactic medium Galaxy environments Galaxy mergers Early-type galaxies |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/1538-4357/ade873 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nushkiachamba truncationsinthexrayhalosofearlytypegalaxiesasatraceroffeedbackandmergers AT pamelammarcum truncationsinthexrayhalosofearlytypegalaxiesasatraceroffeedbackandmergers AT alejandrosborlaff truncationsinthexrayhalosofearlytypegalaxiesasatraceroffeedbackandmergers AT pasqualetemi truncationsinthexrayhalosofearlytypegalaxiesasatraceroffeedbackandmergers AT anetasiemiginowska truncationsinthexrayhalosofearlytypegalaxiesasatraceroffeedbackandmergers |