Turning up the Heat: Using Ram Pressure Stripping in Clusters to Understand Star Formation in Extreme Conditions

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Large systems of galaxies, such as clusters, are usually surrounded by satellite galaxies. These satellites are often stripped of gas as they move around the cluster, resulting in less gas that can be converted to stars. However, there is evidence that low mass galaxies may not be stripped as quickly as suggested by cosmological models, and some observational studies have found that this stripping actually causes star formation. This project lays out a plan to understand how the interaction of a satellite galaxy with its host affects star formation by using a set of computer simulations. This project will support a student in Columbia University’s Bridge to the PhD program, involving the student in the research program and providing mentoring and training. The team will investigate the star formation properties of galaxies that have become satellites of more massive systems. These galaxies are interacting with the diffuse, hot halo gas of the host system, a process known as ram pressure stripping. The results of these numerical simulations will be used to address (i) the mechanisms by which low-mass galaxies respond to ram pressure stripping and how they quench, (ii) the conditions that are most likely to give rise to induced star formation versus rapid quenching, and how they compare to the increasingly large observational samples of so-called Jellyfish galaxies, which show signs of ram pressure stripping, and (iii) the use of high-resolution ISM-scale simulations will show, in detail, how the interstellar medium reacts to ram-pressure stripping. The answers to these questions will allow for a better understanding of how star formation operates in extreme conditions and may lead to better models of star formation in all conditions. The lack of underrepresented minorities (URM) in Ph.D. programs will be addressed in this project by supporting a URM student in Columbia’s successful Bridge to the Ph.D. program.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.