Early Results from the Coma Legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS): Ram Pressure Induced Shocks and Ionization in Jellyfish Tails

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Main Authors: Foster, Lauren M., Roberts, Ian D., Parker, Laura C., Davis, Timothy A., Ignesti, Alessandro, McGee, Sean, Zabel, Nikki, Sun, Ming, van Weeren, Reinout J.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Foster, Lauren M.
Roberts, Ian D.
Parker, Laura C.
Davis, Timothy A.
Ignesti, Alessandro
McGee, Sean
Zabel, Nikki
Sun, Ming
van Weeren, Reinout J.
author_facet Foster, Lauren M.
Roberts, Ian D.
Parker, Laura C.
Davis, Timothy A.
Ignesti, Alessandro
McGee, Sean
Zabel, Nikki
Sun, Ming
van Weeren, Reinout J.
contents Jellyfish galaxies, which exhibit tails of gas opposite to their direction of motion, are a galaxy population showcasing the most extreme effects of ram pressure stripping (RPS). We present the emission line properties of a preliminary sample of five jellyfish galaxies in the Coma cluster, observed with the WEAVE Large-IFU as part of the Coma Legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS). When complete, CLIFS will form a sample of 29 jellyfish galaxies in Coma, selected based on the presence of one-sided tails in the radio continuum, enabling a comprehensive picture of the effects of ram pressure on galaxies in the Coma cluster. We extract emission line properties and confirm consistency between disk fluxes measured from WEAVE and MaNGA for galaxies with overlapping disk coverage between surveys. Comparing resolved radio and H$α$-based star formation rates, we find that, in contrast to the disk, the dominant source of tail emission is not star formation. We find evidence for diffuse ionized gas excited by RPS-driven shocks in the tails, as indicated by: (1) LINER-like tail emission with the [OI]/H$α$ BPT diagnostic; (2) enhanced [OII]/H$α$ ratios in the tails relative to the disks; and (3) similarly elevated emission line velocities and velocity dispersions in the tails with respect to the disks. These results demonstrate that ram-pressure-driven shocks dominate the ionized emission in jellyfish galaxy tails.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_15976
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Early Results from the Coma Legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS): Ram Pressure Induced Shocks and Ionization in Jellyfish Tails
Foster, Lauren M.
Roberts, Ian D.
Parker, Laura C.
Davis, Timothy A.
Ignesti, Alessandro
McGee, Sean
Zabel, Nikki
Sun, Ming
van Weeren, Reinout J.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
Jellyfish galaxies, which exhibit tails of gas opposite to their direction of motion, are a galaxy population showcasing the most extreme effects of ram pressure stripping (RPS). We present the emission line properties of a preliminary sample of five jellyfish galaxies in the Coma cluster, observed with the WEAVE Large-IFU as part of the Coma Legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS). When complete, CLIFS will form a sample of 29 jellyfish galaxies in Coma, selected based on the presence of one-sided tails in the radio continuum, enabling a comprehensive picture of the effects of ram pressure on galaxies in the Coma cluster. We extract emission line properties and confirm consistency between disk fluxes measured from WEAVE and MaNGA for galaxies with overlapping disk coverage between surveys. Comparing resolved radio and H$α$-based star formation rates, we find that, in contrast to the disk, the dominant source of tail emission is not star formation. We find evidence for diffuse ionized gas excited by RPS-driven shocks in the tails, as indicated by: (1) LINER-like tail emission with the [OI]/H$α$ BPT diagnostic; (2) enhanced [OII]/H$α$ ratios in the tails relative to the disks; and (3) similarly elevated emission line velocities and velocity dispersions in the tails with respect to the disks. These results demonstrate that ram-pressure-driven shocks dominate the ionized emission in jellyfish galaxy tails.
title Early Results from the Coma Legacy IFU Survey (CLIFS): Ram Pressure Induced Shocks and Ionization in Jellyfish Tails
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15976