A multiwavelength study of an early galaxy group merger in COSMOS revealed by two tailed radio galaxies at z = 0.35

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Autori principali: Vulić, Paula, Smolčić, Vernesa, Gozaliasl, Ghassem, Delvecchio, Ivan, Finoguenov, Alexis
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2025
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author Vulić, Paula
Smolčić, Vernesa
Gozaliasl, Ghassem
Delvecchio, Ivan
Finoguenov, Alexis
author_facet Vulić, Paula
Smolčić, Vernesa
Gozaliasl, Ghassem
Delvecchio, Ivan
Finoguenov, Alexis
contents We report the discovery of two tailed radio galaxies in the COSMOS field, associated with a massive, dynamically unrelaxed galaxy group detected in X-rays at z = 0.349. One of them is a wide-angle tail (WAT) galaxy, supporting the role of WATs as tracers of dynamically young groups and clusters. Our multiwavelength analysis combines VLA radio data, HST-ACS imaging, COSMOS2020 photometric redshifts, COSMOS2015 photometry, the newest compilation of spectroscopic redshifts in COSMOS, and X-ray observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton. We used these data to study the tailed radio galaxies, their host galaxies, and the group environment. Both radio galaxies are hosted by massive ($\log_{10}(M_*/M_{\odot})=11.88\pm0.03$ and $\log_{10}(M_*/M_{\odot})=11.49\pm0.06$), red, elliptical galaxies with extended stellar halos, as revealed by a color, magnitude, and stellar mass analysis combined with GALFIT modeling and surface-brightness profiles. One corresponds to the brightest group galaxy (BGG), while the other is the second-brightest. A diffuse intragroup medium (IGM) is characterized by its irregular shape and the analysis of the X-ray spectra of the group core reveals high temperature ($T_X=2.4\pm0.6\hspace{0.1cm}\mathrm{keV}$) and an electron density of $(8.2\pm0.3)\times 10^{-4}\hspace{0.1cm}\mathrm{cm^{-3}}$. A galaxy overdensity associated with the group was detected via Voronoi tessellation, using COSMOS2020 CLASSIC photometric redshifts, displaying an irregular morphology, along with evidence of substructure. Assuming the jet bending results from interaction with the IGM, we find a high relative velocity between the BGG and the IGM ($v_{\mathrm{BGG/IGM}} \gtrsim 540$ km/s), primarily due to bulk gas motion. Our findings indicate a dynamically young system in the early stages of assembly via group-group merging.
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id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_19792
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A multiwavelength study of an early galaxy group merger in COSMOS revealed by two tailed radio galaxies at z = 0.35
Vulić, Paula
Smolčić, Vernesa
Gozaliasl, Ghassem
Delvecchio, Ivan
Finoguenov, Alexis
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We report the discovery of two tailed radio galaxies in the COSMOS field, associated with a massive, dynamically unrelaxed galaxy group detected in X-rays at z = 0.349. One of them is a wide-angle tail (WAT) galaxy, supporting the role of WATs as tracers of dynamically young groups and clusters. Our multiwavelength analysis combines VLA radio data, HST-ACS imaging, COSMOS2020 photometric redshifts, COSMOS2015 photometry, the newest compilation of spectroscopic redshifts in COSMOS, and X-ray observations from Chandra and XMM-Newton. We used these data to study the tailed radio galaxies, their host galaxies, and the group environment. Both radio galaxies are hosted by massive ($\log_{10}(M_*/M_{\odot})=11.88\pm0.03$ and $\log_{10}(M_*/M_{\odot})=11.49\pm0.06$), red, elliptical galaxies with extended stellar halos, as revealed by a color, magnitude, and stellar mass analysis combined with GALFIT modeling and surface-brightness profiles. One corresponds to the brightest group galaxy (BGG), while the other is the second-brightest. A diffuse intragroup medium (IGM) is characterized by its irregular shape and the analysis of the X-ray spectra of the group core reveals high temperature ($T_X=2.4\pm0.6\hspace{0.1cm}\mathrm{keV}$) and an electron density of $(8.2\pm0.3)\times 10^{-4}\hspace{0.1cm}\mathrm{cm^{-3}}$. A galaxy overdensity associated with the group was detected via Voronoi tessellation, using COSMOS2020 CLASSIC photometric redshifts, displaying an irregular morphology, along with evidence of substructure. Assuming the jet bending results from interaction with the IGM, we find a high relative velocity between the BGG and the IGM ($v_{\mathrm{BGG/IGM}} \gtrsim 540$ km/s), primarily due to bulk gas motion. Our findings indicate a dynamically young system in the early stages of assembly via group-group merging.
title A multiwavelength study of an early galaxy group merger in COSMOS revealed by two tailed radio galaxies at z = 0.35
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.19792