A Break In the Size-Stellar Mass Relation: Evidence for Quenching and Feedback in Dwarf Galaxies

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Main Authors: Chamba, Nushkia, Marcum, Pamela M., Saintonge, Amélie, Borlaff, Alejandro S., Hayes, Matthew J., Gouellec, Valentin J. M. Le, Chojnowski, S. Drew, Fanelli, Michael N.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2024
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author Chamba, Nushkia
Marcum, Pamela M.
Saintonge, Amélie
Borlaff, Alejandro S.
Hayes, Matthew J.
Gouellec, Valentin J. M. Le
Chojnowski, S. Drew
Fanelli, Michael N.
author_facet Chamba, Nushkia
Marcum, Pamela M.
Saintonge, Amélie
Borlaff, Alejandro S.
Hayes, Matthew J.
Gouellec, Valentin J. M. Le
Chojnowski, S. Drew
Fanelli, Michael N.
contents Mapping stars and gas in nearby galaxies is fundamental for understanding their growth and the impact of their environment. This issue is addressed by comparing the stellar "edges" of galaxies $D_{\rm stellar}$, defined as the outermost diameter where in situ star formation significantly drops, with the gaseous distribution parameterized by the neutral atomic hydrogen diameter measured at 1 $M_{sun}$/pc$^2$, $D_{HI}$. By sampling a broad HI mass range $10^5 M_{sun} < M_{HI} < 10^{11} M_{sun}$, we find several dwarf galaxies with $M_{HI} < 10^9 M_{sun}$ from the field and Fornax Cluster which are distinguished by $D_{\rm stellar} >> D_{HI}$. For the cluster dwarfs, the average HI surface density near $D_{\rm stellar}$ is $\sim$0.3 $M_{sun}$/pc$^2$, reflecting the impact of quenching and outside-in gas removal from ram pressure and tidal interactions. In comparison, $D_{\rm stellar}/D_{HI}$ ranges between 0.5-2 in dwarf field galaxies, consistent with the expectations from stellar feedback. Only more massive disk galaxies in the field can thus be characterized by the common assumption that $D_{\rm stellar} \lesssim D_{HI}$. We discover a break in the $D_{\rm stellar}-M_{\rm stellar}$ relation at $m_{break} \sim 4\times10^8 M_{sun}$ that potentially differentiates the low mass regime where the influence of stellar feedback and environmental processes more prominently regulates the sizes of nearby galaxies. Our results highlight the importance of combining deep optical and HI imaging for understanding galaxy evolution.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2408_13311
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A Break In the Size-Stellar Mass Relation: Evidence for Quenching and Feedback in Dwarf Galaxies
Chamba, Nushkia
Marcum, Pamela M.
Saintonge, Amélie
Borlaff, Alejandro S.
Hayes, Matthew J.
Gouellec, Valentin J. M. Le
Chojnowski, S. Drew
Fanelli, Michael N.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Mapping stars and gas in nearby galaxies is fundamental for understanding their growth and the impact of their environment. This issue is addressed by comparing the stellar "edges" of galaxies $D_{\rm stellar}$, defined as the outermost diameter where in situ star formation significantly drops, with the gaseous distribution parameterized by the neutral atomic hydrogen diameter measured at 1 $M_{sun}$/pc$^2$, $D_{HI}$. By sampling a broad HI mass range $10^5 M_{sun} < M_{HI} < 10^{11} M_{sun}$, we find several dwarf galaxies with $M_{HI} < 10^9 M_{sun}$ from the field and Fornax Cluster which are distinguished by $D_{\rm stellar} >> D_{HI}$. For the cluster dwarfs, the average HI surface density near $D_{\rm stellar}$ is $\sim$0.3 $M_{sun}$/pc$^2$, reflecting the impact of quenching and outside-in gas removal from ram pressure and tidal interactions. In comparison, $D_{\rm stellar}/D_{HI}$ ranges between 0.5-2 in dwarf field galaxies, consistent with the expectations from stellar feedback. Only more massive disk galaxies in the field can thus be characterized by the common assumption that $D_{\rm stellar} \lesssim D_{HI}$. We discover a break in the $D_{\rm stellar}-M_{\rm stellar}$ relation at $m_{break} \sim 4\times10^8 M_{sun}$ that potentially differentiates the low mass regime where the influence of stellar feedback and environmental processes more prominently regulates the sizes of nearby galaxies. Our results highlight the importance of combining deep optical and HI imaging for understanding galaxy evolution.
title A Break In the Size-Stellar Mass Relation: Evidence for Quenching and Feedback in Dwarf Galaxies
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.13311