Poster Presentation

SMA and ALMA CO observations of three Virgo spiral galaxies under the influence of strong ram pressure

Author(s): Bumhyun Lee and Aeree Chung (Yonsei University)

Presenter: Bumhyun Lee (Yonsei University)

The interstellar medium (ISM) of galaxies in the galaxy cluster can well be affected by the intracluster medium (ICM). Among many suggested environmental processes, ram pressure stripping can effectively remove gas through the interaction with the ICM. In fact, cluster galaxies are lower in HI gas mass compared to their field counterparts, and in recent high-resolution HI imaging studies, many galaxies in dense environments have been found to be ram pressure stripped in HI. However, it is still under debate whether the ICM pressure can also remove molecular gas from the galactic disk, which plays a more important role in star formation. To answer this question, we have obtained high-resolution CO data of three Virgo spirals that are undergoing active HI stripping, with the Submillimeter Array (SMA) and Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Using the high-resolution CO data, we investigate how molecular gas properties change as the galaxy experiences the ICM pressure. By comparing with other multi-wavelength data, we discuss how strong ram pressure can impact on the star formation and hence galaxy evolution.