Program: GS-2014A-Q-40
| Title: | On the 2D structure and kinematics of the tidal dwarf candidate in the gas-rich interacting galaxy pair NGC 3166/9 |
| PI: | Fernanda Urrutia |
| Co-I(s): | Sylvia Ploeckinger, Claudia Mendes de Oliveira, Paul Eigenthaler |
Abstract
Interacting galaxies are ideal laboratories to study the formation of new stellar systems, which span from small HII regions to Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDG). We propose to study the 2-D kinematics of the ionized gas in the prominent TDG candidate in the interacting gas-rich galaxy pair NGC3166/9, detected in HI and UV. This information will allow us to study the velocity field of the whole system and, at the same time, we will be able to search for gas flows within the object. We will analyse its internal kinematics to determine if it is gravitationally bound and measure its dynamical mass to constrain its dark matter content. These measurements will allow us to verify the nature of the TDG candidate and confirm or falsify its tidal origin.