An evolutionary continuum from nucleated dwarf galaxies to star clusters - INSU - Institut national des sciences de l'Univers Accéder directement au contenu
Article Dans Une Revue Nature Année : 2023

An evolutionary continuum from nucleated dwarf galaxies to star clusters

Kaixiang Wang
  • Fonction : Auteur
Eric W. Peng
  • Fonction : Auteur
Chengze Liu
  • Fonction : Auteur
J. Christopher Mihos
  • Fonction : Auteur
Patrick Côté
  • Fonction : Auteur
Laura Ferrarese
  • Fonction : Auteur
Matthew A. Taylor
  • Fonction : Auteur
John P. Blakeslee
  • Fonction : Auteur
Puragra Guhathakurta
  • Fonction : Auteur
Stephen Gwyn
  • Fonction : Auteur
Youkyung Ko
  • Fonction : Auteur
Sungsoon Lim
  • Fonction : Auteur
Lauren A. Macarthur
  • Fonction : Auteur
Thomas Puzia
  • Fonction : Auteur
Joel Roediger
  • Fonction : Auteur
Laura V. Sales
  • Fonction : Auteur
Rubén Sánchez-Janssen
  • Fonction : Auteur
Chelsea Spengler
  • Fonction : Auteur
Elisa Toloba
  • Fonction : Auteur
Hongxin Zhang
  • Fonction : Auteur
Mingcheng Zhu
  • Fonction : Auteur

Résumé

Systematic studies1-4 have revealed hundreds of ultra-compact dwarf galaxies (UCDs5) in the nearby Universe. With half-light radii rh of approximately 10-100 parsecs and stellar masses M* ≈ 106-108 solar masses, UCDs are among the densest known stellar systems6. Although similar in appearance to massive globular clusters7, the detection of extended stellar envelopes4,8,9, complex star formation histories10, elevated mass-to-light ratio11,12 and supermassive black holes13-16 suggest that some UCDs are remnant nuclear star clusters17 of tidally stripped dwarf galaxies18,19, or even ancient compact galaxies20. However, only a few objects have been found in the transient stage of tidal stripping21,22, and this assumed evolutionary path19 has never been fully traced by observations. Here we show that 106 galaxies in the Virgo cluster have morphologies that are intermediate between normal, nucleated dwarf galaxies and single-component UCDs, revealing a continuum that fully maps this morphological transition and fills the `size gap' between star clusters and galaxies. Their spatial distribution and redder colour are also consistent with stripped satellite galaxies on their first few pericentric passages around massive galaxies23. The `ultra-diffuse' tidal features around several of these galaxies directly show how UCDs are forming through tidal stripping and that this evolutionary path can include an early phase as a nucleated ultra-diffuse galaxy24,25. These UCDs represent substantial visible fossil remnants of ancient dwarf galaxies in galaxy clusters, and more low-mass remnants probably remain to be found.

Dates et versions

insu-04295101 , version 1 (20-11-2023)

Identifiants

Citer

Kaixiang Wang, Eric W. Peng, Chengze Liu, J. Christopher Mihos, Patrick Côté, et al.. An evolutionary continuum from nucleated dwarf galaxies to star clusters. Nature, 2023, 623, pp.296-300. ⟨10.1038/s41586-023-06650-z⟩. ⟨insu-04295101⟩
8 Consultations
0 Téléchargements

Altmetric

Partager

Gmail Facebook X LinkedIn More