Heavy elements unveil the non primordial origin of the giant HI ring in Leo

Abstract

The origin and fate of the most extended extragalactic neutral cloud known in the local Universe, the Leo ring, is still debated 38 years after its discovery. Its existence is alternatively attributed to leftover primordial gas with some low level of metal pollution versus enriched gas stripped during a galaxy-galaxy encounter. Taking advantage of MUSE (Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer) operating at the VLT, we performed optical integral field spectroscopy of 3 HI clumps in the Leo ring where ultraviolet continuum emission has been found. We detected, for the first time, ionized hydrogen in the ring and identify 4 nebular regions powered by massive stars. These nebulae show several metal lines ([OIII],[NII],[SII]) which allowed reliable measures of metallicities, found to be close to or above the solar value. Given the faintness of the diffuse stellar counterparts, less than 3 percent of the observed heavy elements could have been produced locally in the main body of the ring and not much more than 15 percent in the HI clump towards M96. This inference, and the chemical homogeneity among the regions, convincingly demonstrates that the gas in the ring is not primordial, but has been pre-enriched in a galaxy disk, then later removed and shaped by tidal forces and it is forming a sparse population of stars.

Accepted for publication in ApJ Letters, 8 pages, 3 figures

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Cited by in corpus (5)

• The Arecibo Galaxy Environment Survey XII : Optically dark HI clouds in the Leo I Group
• Young, blue, and isolated stellar systems in the Virgo Cluster. I. 2-D Optical spectroscopy
• Exploring extreme conditions for star formation: a deep search for molecular gas in the Leo ring
• Gaseous nebulae and massive stars in the giant HI ring in Leo
• Young, blue, and isolated stellar systems in the Virgo Cluster. II. A new class of stellar system