H i content in galaxies in loose groups

Abstract

Gas deficiency in cluster spirals is well known and ram-pressure stripping is considered the main gas removal mechanism. In some compact groups too gas deficiency is reported. However, gas deficiency in loose groups is not yet well established. Lower dispersion of the member velocities and the lower density of the intragroup medium in small loose groups favour tidal stripping as the main gas removal process in them. Recent releases of data from the H I Parkes All-Sky Survey (HIPASS) and catalogues of nearby loose groups with associated diffuse X-ray emission have allowed us to test this notion. In this paper, we address the following questions: (i) do galaxies in groups with diffuse X-ray emission statistically have lower gas content compared to the ones in groups without diffuse X-ray emission? (ii) does H i deficiency vary with the X-ray luminosity, L X , of the loose group in a systematic way? We find that (i) galaxies in groups with diffuse X-ray emission, on average, are H i deficient, and have lost more gas compared to those in groups without X-ray emission; the latter are found not to have significant H I deficiency; (ii) no systematic dependence of the H I deficiency with L X is found. Ram-pressure-assisted tidal stripping and evaporation by thermal conduction are the two possible mechanisms to account for this excess gas loss.