The curious case of J113924.74+164144.0: a possible new group of galaxies at z = 0.0693

Abstract

J113924.74+164144.0 is an interesting galaxy at z = 0.0693, i.e. D_L ~ 305 Mpc, with tidal-tail-like extended optical features on both sides. There are two neighbouring galaxies, a spiral galaxy J113922.85+164136.3 which has a strikingly similar 'tidal' morphology, and a faint galaxy J113923.58+164129.9. We report HI 21 cm observations of this field to search for signatures of possible interaction. Narrow HI emission is detected from J113924.74+164144.0, but J113922.85+164136.3 shows no detectable emission. The total HI mass detected in J113924.74+164144.0 is 7.7 x 10^9 M_solar. The HI emission from the galaxy is found to be extended and significantly offset from the optical position of the galaxy. We interpret this as signature of possible interaction with the neighbouring spiral galaxy. There is also a possible detection of HI emission from another nearby galaxy J113952.31+164531.8 at z = 0.0680 at a projected distance of 600 kpc, and with a total HI mass of 5.3 x 10^9 M_solar, suggesting that all these galaxies form a loose group at z ~ 0.069.

5 pages, 1 table, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters. The definitive version will be available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/

References in corpus (8)

• The HI content of star-forming galaxies at z = 0.24
• WSRT Ultra-Deep Neutral Hydrogen Imaging of Galaxy Clusters at z=0.2, a Pilot Survey of Abell 963 and Abell 2192
• The Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey: Precursor Observations of the NGC 628 group
• A Pilot Survey of HI in Field Galaxies at Redshift z~0.2
• The Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey: II. A HI view of the Abell cluster 1367 and its outskirts
• HI 21cm absorption at $z\sim 3.39$ towards PKS 0201+113
• Discovery of 21cm absorption in a $z_{\mathrm{abs}}=2.289$ DLA towards TXS 0311+430: The first low spin temperature absorber at z > 1
• NGC4438 and its environment at radio wavelengths