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Galaxy Disruption Caught in the Act

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 May 2016

A. M. Karick ,
M. J. Drinkwater ,
M. J. West ,
M. D. Gregg  and
M. Hilker
A. M. Karick
Affiliation:
School of Physics, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia
M. J. Drinkwater
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Queensland 4027, Australia, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
M. J. West
Affiliation:
University of Queensland, Queensland 4027, Australia, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Hilo, HI 96720, USA
M. D. Gregg
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA Sternwarte der Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121, Germany
M. Hilker
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA Sternwarte der Universität Bonn, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121, Germany

Abstract

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Direct evidence of stellar material from galaxy disruption in the intra-cluster medium (ICM) relies on challenging observations of individual stars, planetary nebulae and diffuse optical light. Here we show that the ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs) we have discovered in the Fornax Cluster are a new and easy-to-measure probe of disruption in the ICM. We present spectroscopic observations supporting the hypothesis that the UCDs are the remnant nuclei of tidally “threshed” dwarf galaxies. Deep optical imaging of the cluster has revealed a 43-kpc long arc of tidal debris, flanking a nucleated dwarf elliptical (dE,N) cluster member. We may be witnessing galaxy threshing in action.

Type
Part 1. Census
Information
Symposium - International Astronomical Union , Volume 217: Recycling Intergalactic and Interslettar Matter , 2004 , pp. 83 - 85
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of the Pacific 2004 

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