THE NEXT GENERATION VIRGO CLUSTER SURVEY. XIV. Shell feature early-type dwarf galaxies in the Virgo cluster

Abstract

The Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey is a deep (with a $2\sigma$ detection limit ${\mu }_g$ = 29~mag~arcsec${}^{-2}$ in the $g-$band) optical panchromatic survey targeting the Virgo cluster from its core to virial radius, for a total areal coverage of 104 square degrees. As such, the survey is well suited for the study of galaxies' outskirts, haloes and low surface brightness features that arise from dynamical interactions within the cluster environment. We report the discovery of extremely faint (${\mu }_g$ $>$ 25 mag arcsec${}^{-2}$) shells in three Virgo cluster early-type dwarf galaxies, VCC~1361, VCC~1447 and VCC~1668. Among them, VCC~1447 has an absolute magnitude M${}_g$ = -11.71 mag and is {\it the least massive galaxy with a shell system discovered to date}. We present a detailed study of these low surface brightness features. We detect between three and four shells in each of our galaxies. Within the uncertainties, we find no evidence of a color difference between the galaxy main body and shell features. The observed arcs of the shells are located upto several effective radii of the galaxies. We further explore the origin of these low surface brightness features with the help of idealized numerical simulations. We find that a near equal mass merger is best able to reproduce the main properties of the shells, including their quite symmetric appearance and their alignment along the major axis of the galaxy. The simulations provide support for a formation scenario in which a recent merger, between two near-equal mass, gas-free dwarf galaxies forms the observed shell systems.

14 pages, Accepted to ApJ

References in corpus (14)

• The Atlas3D project -- XXIX. The new look of early-type galaxies and surrounding fields disclosed by extremely deep optical images
• The DART imaging and CaT survey of the Fornax Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy
• Virgo cluster early-type dwarf galaxies with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. I. On the possible disk nature of bright early-type dwarfs
• On the origin of the faint-end of the red sequence in high density environments
• The GALEX Ultraviolet Virgo Cluster Survey (GUViCS). IV: The role of the cluster environment on galaxy evolution
• TiNy Titans: The Role of Dwarf-Dwarf Interactions in the Evolution of Low Mass Galaxies
• Satellite Dwarf Galaxies in a Hierarchical Universe: The Prevalence of Dwarf-Dwarf Major Mergers
• Discovery of a close pair of faint dwarf galaxies in the halo of Centaurus A
• A Deep Survey of the Fornax dSph I: Star Formation History
• Tidal debris in elliptical galaxies as tracers of mergers with disks
• An isolated, compact early-type galaxy with a diffuse stellar component: merger origin?
• Tidal Interaction as the origin of early-type dwarf galaxies in group environment
• A case study for a tidal interaction between dwarf galaxies in UGC 6741
• The GALEX Ultraviolet Virgo Cluster Survey (GUViCS) III. The Ultraviolet Source Catalogs

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Ultra-diffuse galaxies without dark matter
• Ultra diffuse galaxies in the MATLAS low-to-moderate density fields
• Star Formation in Isolated Dwarf Galaxies Hosting Tidal Debris: Extending the Dwarf-Dwarf Merger Sequence
• Accretion of Galaxy Groups into Galaxy Clusters
• Solo dwarfs II: The stellar structure of isolated Local Group dwarf galaxies
• An Extensive Catalog of Early-type Dwarf Galaxies in the Local Universe: Morphology and Environment
• Inverted metallicity gradients in two Virgo cluster star-forming dwarf galaxies: evidence of recent merging?
• Connecting traces of galaxy evolution: the missing core mass -- morphological fine structure relation
• The Next Generation Fornax Survey (NGFS): V. Discovery of a dwarf-dwarf galaxy pair at z=0.30 and its characterization using deep VLT/MUSE observations