2001ApJ...550...94M

We present models of interacting galaxies in order to study the development of spatial offsets between the gaseous and stellar components in tidal tails. Observationally, such large-scale offsets are observed in several systems–most notably NGC 3690–suggesting an interaction between the tidal gas and some (unseen) hot interstellar medium (ISM). Instead, our models show that these offsets are a natural consequence of the radially extended H I spatial distribution in disk galaxies, coupled with internal dissipation in the gaseous component driven by the interaction. This mechanism is most effective in systems involved in very prograde interactions and explains the observed gas/star offsets in interacting galaxies without invoking interactions with a hot ISM, starburst ionization, or dust obscuration within the tails.