The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy
We report the discovery and multiwavelength follow-up of LEDA 1313424 (“Bullseye”), a collisional ring galaxy (CRG) with nine readily identified rings—the most so far reported for a CRG. These data shed new light on the rapid, multiring phase of CRG evolution. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imag...
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IOP Publishing
2025-01-01
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| Series: | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9f5c |
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| author | Imad Pasha Pieter G. van Dokkum Qing Liu William P. Bowman Steven R. Janssens Michael A. Keim Chloe Neufeld Roberto Abraham |
| author_facet | Imad Pasha Pieter G. van Dokkum Qing Liu William P. Bowman Steven R. Janssens Michael A. Keim Chloe Neufeld Roberto Abraham |
| author_sort | Imad Pasha |
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| description | We report the discovery and multiwavelength follow-up of LEDA 1313424 (“Bullseye”), a collisional ring galaxy (CRG) with nine readily identified rings—the most so far reported for a CRG. These data shed new light on the rapid, multiring phase of CRG evolution. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging, we identify and measure nine ring structures, several of which are “piled up” near the center of the galaxy, while others extend to tens of kiloparsecs scales. We also identify faint patches of emission at large radii (~70 kpc) in the HST imaging and confirm the association of this emission with the galaxy via spectroscopy. Deep ground-based imaging using the Dragonfly Telephoto Array finds evidence that this patch of emission is part of an older, fading ring from the collision. We find that the locations of the detected rings are an excellent match to predictions from analytic theory if the galaxy was a 10-ring system whose outermost ring has faded away. We identify the likely impacting galaxy via Keck/KCWI spectroscopy, finding evidence for gas extending between it and the Bullseye. The overall size of this galaxy rivals that of known giant low surface brightness galaxies (GLSBs) such as Malin I, lending credence to the hypothesis that CRGs can evolve into GLSBs as their rings expand and fade. Analysis of the H i content in this galaxy from ALFALFA finds significantly elevated neutral hydrogen with respect to the galaxy's stellar mass, another feature in alignment with GLSB systems. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b2e30ae99bca4e3fbbbc96f8e3bdd447 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2041-8205 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IOP Publishing |
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| series | The Astrophysical Journal Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-b2e30ae99bca4e3fbbbc96f8e3bdd4472025-02-04T14:59:48ZengIOP PublishingThe Astrophysical Journal Letters2041-82052025-01-019801L310.3847/2041-8213/ad9f5cThe Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed GalaxyImad Pasha0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7075-9931Pieter G. van Dokkum1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8282-9888Qing Liu2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7490-5991William P. Bowman3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4381-5245Steven R. Janssens4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0327-3322Michael A. Keim5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7743-2501Chloe Neufeld6https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6558-9894Roberto Abraham7https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4542-921XDepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Toronto , CanadaDepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USACentre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University , Hawthorn, VIC 3122, AustraliaDepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Astronomy, Yale University , 219 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USADepartment of Astronomy, University of Toronto , CanadaWe report the discovery and multiwavelength follow-up of LEDA 1313424 (“Bullseye”), a collisional ring galaxy (CRG) with nine readily identified rings—the most so far reported for a CRG. These data shed new light on the rapid, multiring phase of CRG evolution. Using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging, we identify and measure nine ring structures, several of which are “piled up” near the center of the galaxy, while others extend to tens of kiloparsecs scales. We also identify faint patches of emission at large radii (~70 kpc) in the HST imaging and confirm the association of this emission with the galaxy via spectroscopy. Deep ground-based imaging using the Dragonfly Telephoto Array finds evidence that this patch of emission is part of an older, fading ring from the collision. We find that the locations of the detected rings are an excellent match to predictions from analytic theory if the galaxy was a 10-ring system whose outermost ring has faded away. We identify the likely impacting galaxy via Keck/KCWI spectroscopy, finding evidence for gas extending between it and the Bullseye. The overall size of this galaxy rivals that of known giant low surface brightness galaxies (GLSBs) such as Malin I, lending credence to the hypothesis that CRGs can evolve into GLSBs as their rings expand and fade. Analysis of the H i content in this galaxy from ALFALFA finds significantly elevated neutral hydrogen with respect to the galaxy's stellar mass, another feature in alignment with GLSB systems.https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9f5cGalaxy collisionsRing galaxiesLow surface brightness galaxiesDwarf galaxiesGalaxy encountersGalaxy spectroscopy |
| spellingShingle | Imad Pasha Pieter G. van Dokkum Qing Liu William P. Bowman Steven R. Janssens Michael A. Keim Chloe Neufeld Roberto Abraham The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy The Astrophysical Journal Letters Galaxy collisions Ring galaxies Low surface brightness galaxies Dwarf galaxies Galaxy encounters Galaxy spectroscopy |
| title | The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy |
| title_full | The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy |
| title_fullStr | The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy |
| title_short | The Bullseye: HST, Keck/KCWI, and Dragonfly Characterization of a Giant Nine-ringed Galaxy |
| title_sort | bullseye hst keck kcwi and dragonfly characterization of a giant nine ringed galaxy |
| topic | Galaxy collisions Ring galaxies Low surface brightness galaxies Dwarf galaxies Galaxy encounters Galaxy spectroscopy |
| url | https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ad9f5c |
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