2024MNRAS.532..496M -
Mon. Not. R. Astron. Soc., 532, 496-505 (2024/July-3)
Radio continuum emission from a tidal dwarf galaxy.
MONCADA-CUADRI B.M., LISENFELD U., QUEREJETA M. and MUNDELL C.
Abstract (from CDS):
Tidal dwarf galaxies (TDGs) form in the debris of galaxy mergers, making them ideal testbeds for investigating star formation in an extreme environment. We present radio continuum EVLA observations spanning 1-2 GHz of the interacting system Arp 94, which contains the TDG J1023+1952. We detect extended radio continuum emission from the disc of the TDG's putative parent galaxy, the spiral NGC 3227. The TDG lies in front of the spiral disc, partially overlapping in projection. This challenging alignment complicates the separation of the respective contributions of radio emission from the TDG and disc. However, we show that the radio continuum appears more prominent around the TDG's location, suggesting the detection of emission from the TDG. Quantifying this argument, we derive an upper limit of 2.2 mJy for the whole TDG's emission. Our derived inband spectral index map of the system generally shows the expected behaviour of combined thermal and synchrotron radio emission in a galaxy disc, except for a region at the periphery of the disc and the TDG with a flat spectrum (spectral index $\sim$-0.4) unrelated to regions with high H $\alpha$ emission. We speculate that at this location - which coincides with the intersection of faint tidal tails - the collision of gas clouds produces shocks which re-accelerate cosmic ray electrons, and thereby enhance the radio emission. Overall, this study provides new insights about the Arp 94 system and expands the sample of TDGs studied at radio frequencies, with only two confirmed detections so far.
Abstract Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Astronomical Society.
Journal keyword(s):
galaxies: dwarf - galaxies: interactions - galaxies: star formation - radio continuum: galaxies - radio continuum: ISM
Simbad objects:
10
Full paper
View the references in ADS
To bookmark this query, right click on this link: simbad:2024MNRAS.532..496M and select 'bookmark this link' or equivalent in the popup menu