ViCTORIA project: MeerKAT H I observations of the ram pressure stripped galaxy NGC 4523

Abstract

We present the first results of a 21 cm H I line pilot observation carried out with the MeerKAT radio telescope in preparation for the ViCTORIA (Virgo Cluster multi Telescope Observations in Radio of Interacting galaxies and AGN) project, an untargeted survey of the Virgo galaxy cluster. The extraordinary quality of the data in terms of sensitivity and angular resolution (rms ∼ 0.65 mJy beam−1 at ∼27″ × 39″ and 11 km s−1 resolution) allowed us to detect an extended (∼10 kpc projected length) low column density (N(HI)≲2.5 × 1020 cm−2) H I gas tail associated with the dwarf (Mstar = 1.6 × 109 M⊙) irregular galaxy NGC 4523 at the northern edge of the cluster. The morphology of the tail and of the stellar disc suggest that the galaxy is suffering a hydrodynamic interaction with the surrounding hot intracluster medium (ICM; ram pressure stripping). The orientation of the trailing tail, the gradient in the H I gas column density at the interface between the cold interstellar medium (ISM) and the hot ICM, the velocity of the galaxy with respect to that of the cluster, and its position indicate that NGC 4523 is infalling for the first time into Virgo from the north-north-west background of the cluster. Using a grid of hydrodynamic simulations, we derive the impact parameters with the surrounding ICM, and estimate that the galaxy will be at pericentre (D ∼ 500–600 kpc) in ∼1 Gyr, where ram pressure stripping will be able to remove most, if not all, of its gas. The galaxy is located on the star formation main sequence when its star formation rate is derived using Hα narrow-band images obtained during the VESTIGE survey, suggesting that NGC 4523 is only at the beginning of its interaction with the surrounding environment. A few H II regions are detected in the deep Hα narrow-band images within the H I gas tail outside the stellar disc. Their ages, derived by comparing their Hα, far-ultraviolet (ASTROSAT/UVIT), near-ultraviolet (GALEX/GUViCS), and optical (NGVS) colours with the predictions of spectral energy distribution fitting models, are ≲30 Myr, and suggest that these H II regions have formed within the stripped gas.