Digging deeper into NGC 6868 II: ionized gas and excitation mechanism

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Hauptverfasser: Benedetti, João P. V., Riffel, Rogério, Ricci, Tiago, Riffel, Rogemar A., Pastoriza, Miriani, Trevisan, Marina, Dahmer-Hahn, Luis G., Ruschel-Dutra, Daniel, Rodríguez-Ardila, Alberto, Ferré-Mateu, Anna, Vazdekis, Alexandre, Steiner, João
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Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Benedetti, João P. V.
Riffel, Rogério
Ricci, Tiago
Riffel, Rogemar A.
Pastoriza, Miriani
Trevisan, Marina
Dahmer-Hahn, Luis G.
Ruschel-Dutra, Daniel
Rodríguez-Ardila, Alberto
Ferré-Mateu, Anna
Vazdekis, Alexandre
Steiner, João
author_facet Benedetti, João P. V.
Riffel, Rogério
Ricci, Tiago
Riffel, Rogemar A.
Pastoriza, Miriani
Trevisan, Marina
Dahmer-Hahn, Luis G.
Ruschel-Dutra, Daniel
Rodríguez-Ardila, Alberto
Ferré-Mateu, Anna
Vazdekis, Alexandre
Steiner, João
contents We studied the ionized gas in the inner region ($\sim680\times470$ pc$^2$) of the galaxy NGC 6868 using Gemini/GMOS integral field unit observations. Channel maps reveal complex kinematics and morphology, indicating multiple processes at work in NGC 6868. Through emission-line fitting, we identified two ubiquitous components in our data: a narrow ($σ\sim110$ km s$^{-1}$) tracing an ionized gas disc and a broad component ($σ\sim300$ km s$^{-1}$) mainly associated with inflowing/outflowing gas. The derived V-band reddening shows a spatial distribution consistent with that obtained from stellar population synthesis, although with generally higher values. For the first time, we measured the electron temperature in NGC 6868, finding values ranging from $\sim 14000$ K in the central region to $\gtrsim20000$ K with an outward increasing temperature gradient. The electron density map exhibits an inverse relationship, with central values reaching $N_e\sim4000$ cm$^{-3}$ for the broad component decreasing to $N_e\sim100$ cm$^{-3}$ towards the edges of the field of view. Using BPT diagrams, we found that all spaxels are consistent with both AGN and shock ionization. However, when this information is combined with our kinematic and temperature findings, and further supported by the WHAN diagram, we argue that an AGN is the dominant ionisation mechanism in the central region of NGC 6868, while the extended outer component is ionized by a combination of hot low-mass evolved stars and shocks. According to our findings, shocks play a significant role in the ionization balance of this galaxy.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2409_08047
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Digging deeper into NGC 6868 II: ionized gas and excitation mechanism
Benedetti, João P. V.
Riffel, Rogério
Ricci, Tiago
Riffel, Rogemar A.
Pastoriza, Miriani
Trevisan, Marina
Dahmer-Hahn, Luis G.
Ruschel-Dutra, Daniel
Rodríguez-Ardila, Alberto
Ferré-Mateu, Anna
Vazdekis, Alexandre
Steiner, João
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We studied the ionized gas in the inner region ($\sim680\times470$ pc$^2$) of the galaxy NGC 6868 using Gemini/GMOS integral field unit observations. Channel maps reveal complex kinematics and morphology, indicating multiple processes at work in NGC 6868. Through emission-line fitting, we identified two ubiquitous components in our data: a narrow ($σ\sim110$ km s$^{-1}$) tracing an ionized gas disc and a broad component ($σ\sim300$ km s$^{-1}$) mainly associated with inflowing/outflowing gas. The derived V-band reddening shows a spatial distribution consistent with that obtained from stellar population synthesis, although with generally higher values. For the first time, we measured the electron temperature in NGC 6868, finding values ranging from $\sim 14000$ K in the central region to $\gtrsim20000$ K with an outward increasing temperature gradient. The electron density map exhibits an inverse relationship, with central values reaching $N_e\sim4000$ cm$^{-3}$ for the broad component decreasing to $N_e\sim100$ cm$^{-3}$ towards the edges of the field of view. Using BPT diagrams, we found that all spaxels are consistent with both AGN and shock ionization. However, when this information is combined with our kinematic and temperature findings, and further supported by the WHAN diagram, we argue that an AGN is the dominant ionisation mechanism in the central region of NGC 6868, while the extended outer component is ionized by a combination of hot low-mass evolved stars and shocks. According to our findings, shocks play a significant role in the ionization balance of this galaxy.
title Digging deeper into NGC 6868 II: ionized gas and excitation mechanism
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2409.08047