1 research outputs found
Galaxy evolution in compact groups I: Revealing a transitional galaxy population through a multiwavelength approach
Compact groups of galaxies (CGs) show members with morphological
disturbances, mainly products of galaxy-galaxy interactions, thus making them
ideal systems to study galaxy evolution, in high-density environment. To
understand how this environment affects the properties of galaxies, we select a
sample of 340 CGs in the Stripe 82 region, for a total of 1083 galaxies, and a
sample of 2281 field galaxies as a control sample. By performing a
multi-wavelength morphological fitting process using S-PLUS data, we divide our
sample into early-type (ETG), late-type (LTG), and transition galaxies using
the r-band S\'ersic index and the colour (u-r). We find a bimodal distribution
in the plane of the effective radius-S\'ersic index, where a secondary
"peculiar" galaxy population of smaller and more compact galaxies is found in
CGs, which is not observed in the control sample. This indicates that galaxies
are undergoing a morphological transformation in CGs. In addition, we find
significant statistical differences in the distribution of specific Star
Formation Rate (sSFR) when we compare both environments for LTGs and ETGs. We
also find a higher fraction of quenched galaxies and a lower median sSFR in CGs
than in the control sample, suggesting the existence of environmental effects
favoring the cessation of star formation, regardless of galaxy type. Our
results support the notion that CGs promote morphological and physical
transformations, highlighting their potential as ideal systems for galaxy
pre-processing.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA