Heavy Elements Unveil the Non-primordial Origin of the Giant H I Ring in Leo

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dc.contributor.authorCorbelli, Edvige
dc.contributor.authorCresci, Giovanni
dc.contributor.authorMannucci, Filippo
dc.contributor.authorThilker, David
dc.contributor.authorVenturi, Giacomo
dc.date.accessioned2025-01-20T23:53:27Z
dc.date.available2025-01-20T23:53:27Z
dc.date.issued2021
dc.description.abstractThe origin and fate of the most extended extragalactic neutral cloud known in the local universe, the Leo ring, is still debated 38 yr after its discovery. Its existence is alternatively attributed to leftover primordial gas with some low level of metal pollution versus enriched gas stripped during a galaxy-galaxy encounter. Taking advantage of Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer operating at the Very Large Telescope, we performed optical integral field spectroscopy of three H I clumps in the Leo ring where ultraviolet continuum emission has been found. We detected, for the first time, ionized hydrogen in the ring and identify four nebular regions powered by massive stars. These nebulae show several metal lines ([O III], [N II], [S II]) that allowed reliable measures of metallicities, found to be close to or above the solar value (0.8 <= Z/Z <= 1.4). Given the faintness of the diffuse stellar counterparts, less than 3% of the observed heavy elements could have been produced locally in the main body of the ring and not much more than 15% in the H I clump toward M96. This inference, and the chemical homogeneity among the regions, convincingly demonstrates that the gas in the ring is not primordial, but has been pre-enriched in a galaxy disk, then later removed and shaped by tidal forces and it is forming a sparse population of stars.
dc.fuente.origenWOS
dc.identifier.doi10.3847/2041-8213/abdf64
dc.identifier.eissn2041-8213
dc.identifier.issn2041-8205
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/abdf64
dc.identifier.urihttps://repositorio.uc.cl/handle/11534/94965
dc.identifier.wosidWOS:000620497700001
dc.issue.numero2
dc.language.isoen
dc.revistaAstrophysical journal letters
dc.rightsacceso restringido
dc.subjectChemical abundances
dc.subjectIntergalactic clouds
dc.subjectInteracting galaxies
dc.subjectH II regions
dc.titleHeavy Elements Unveil the Non-primordial Origin of the Giant H I Ring in Leo
dc.typeartículo
dc.volumen908
sipa.indexWOS
sipa.trazabilidadWOS;2025-01-12
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