Rendezvous in CAVITY: Kinematics and gas properties of an isolated dwarf-dwarf merging pair in a cosmic void region

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Main Authors: Bidaran, Bahar, de Daniloff, Simon, Pérez, Isabel, Zurita, Almudena, Román, Javier, Argudo-Fernández, María, Espada, Daniel, Ruiz-Lara, Tomás, Sánchez-Menguiano, Laura, García-Benito, Rubén, Peletier, Reynier F., Ferré-Mateu, Anna, Puertas, Salvador Duarte, Verley, Simon, Falcón-Barroso, Jesús, Florido, Estrella, Torres-Ríos, Gloria, Lisenfeld, Ute, Relaño, Mónica, Jiménez, Andoni
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Bidaran, Bahar
de Daniloff, Simon
Pérez, Isabel
Zurita, Almudena
Román, Javier
Argudo-Fernández, María
Espada, Daniel
Ruiz-Lara, Tomás
Sánchez-Menguiano, Laura
García-Benito, Rubén
Peletier, Reynier F.
Ferré-Mateu, Anna
Puertas, Salvador Duarte
Verley, Simon
Falcón-Barroso, Jesús
Florido, Estrella
Torres-Ríos, Gloria
Lisenfeld, Ute
Relaño, Mónica
Jiménez, Andoni
author_facet Bidaran, Bahar
de Daniloff, Simon
Pérez, Isabel
Zurita, Almudena
Román, Javier
Argudo-Fernández, María
Espada, Daniel
Ruiz-Lara, Tomás
Sánchez-Menguiano, Laura
García-Benito, Rubén
Peletier, Reynier F.
Ferré-Mateu, Anna
Puertas, Salvador Duarte
Verley, Simon
Falcón-Barroso, Jesús
Florido, Estrella
Torres-Ríos, Gloria
Lisenfeld, Ute
Relaño, Mónica
Jiménez, Andoni
contents Galaxy mergers are pivotal events in the evolutionary history of galaxies, with their impact believed to be particularly significant in dwarf galaxies. We report the serendipitous identification of an isolated merging dwarf system with a total stellar mass of M$_{\rm \star}$$\sim$10$^{9.7}$M$_{\rm \odot}$, located in the centre of a cosmic void. This system is one of the rare examples, and possibly the first, of merging dwarf galaxy pairs studied within the central region of a cosmic void. Using CAVITY PPAK-IFU data combined with deep optical broadband imaging from the Isaac Newton Telescope, we analysed the kinematics and ionized gas properties of each dwarf galaxy in the system by employing a full spectral fitting technique. The orientation of this merging pair relative to the line of sight allowed us to determine the dynamical mass of each component, showing that both had similar dynamical masses within galactocentric distances of up to 2.9 kpc. While the gas-phase metallicity of both components is consistent with that of star-forming dwarf galaxies, the star formation rates observed in both components exceed those typically reported for equally massive star-forming dwarf galaxies. This indicates that the merger has presumably contributed to enhancing star formation. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in the optical g-r colour of this merging pair compared to other merging dwarf pairs across different environments. While most merging events occur in group-like environments with high galaxy density and the tidal influence of a host halo, and isolated mergers typically involve galaxies with significant mass differences, the identified merging pair does not follow these patterns. We speculate that the global dynamics of the void or past three-body encounters involving components of this pair and a nearby dwarf galaxy might have triggered this merging event.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_15359
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Rendezvous in CAVITY: Kinematics and gas properties of an isolated dwarf-dwarf merging pair in a cosmic void region
Bidaran, Bahar
de Daniloff, Simon
Pérez, Isabel
Zurita, Almudena
Román, Javier
Argudo-Fernández, María
Espada, Daniel
Ruiz-Lara, Tomás
Sánchez-Menguiano, Laura
García-Benito, Rubén
Peletier, Reynier F.
Ferré-Mateu, Anna
Puertas, Salvador Duarte
Verley, Simon
Falcón-Barroso, Jesús
Florido, Estrella
Torres-Ríos, Gloria
Lisenfeld, Ute
Relaño, Mónica
Jiménez, Andoni
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Galaxy mergers are pivotal events in the evolutionary history of galaxies, with their impact believed to be particularly significant in dwarf galaxies. We report the serendipitous identification of an isolated merging dwarf system with a total stellar mass of M$_{\rm \star}$$\sim$10$^{9.7}$M$_{\rm \odot}$, located in the centre of a cosmic void. This system is one of the rare examples, and possibly the first, of merging dwarf galaxy pairs studied within the central region of a cosmic void. Using CAVITY PPAK-IFU data combined with deep optical broadband imaging from the Isaac Newton Telescope, we analysed the kinematics and ionized gas properties of each dwarf galaxy in the system by employing a full spectral fitting technique. The orientation of this merging pair relative to the line of sight allowed us to determine the dynamical mass of each component, showing that both had similar dynamical masses within galactocentric distances of up to 2.9 kpc. While the gas-phase metallicity of both components is consistent with that of star-forming dwarf galaxies, the star formation rates observed in both components exceed those typically reported for equally massive star-forming dwarf galaxies. This indicates that the merger has presumably contributed to enhancing star formation. Furthermore, we found no significant difference in the optical g-r colour of this merging pair compared to other merging dwarf pairs across different environments. While most merging events occur in group-like environments with high galaxy density and the tidal influence of a host halo, and isolated mergers typically involve galaxies with significant mass differences, the identified merging pair does not follow these patterns. We speculate that the global dynamics of the void or past three-body encounters involving components of this pair and a nearby dwarf galaxy might have triggered this merging event.
title Rendezvous in CAVITY: Kinematics and gas properties of an isolated dwarf-dwarf merging pair in a cosmic void region
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.15359