Issue |
A&A
Volume 486, Number 1, July IV 2008
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 113 - 117 | |
Section | Extragalactic astronomy | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:200809827 | |
Published online | 22 May 2008 |
Research Note
The nature of the nearest compact group of galaxies from precise distance measurements
Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris (UMR 7095: CNRS & UPMC), 98 bis Bd Arago, 75014 Paris, France e-mail: gam@iap.fr
Received:
21
March
2008
Accepted:
13
April
2008
Context. Compact groups (CGs) of galaxies, similar to those catalogued by Hickson, appear to be the densest galaxy structures in the Universe. Redshift information is insufficient to determine whether a CG is roughly as dense in three dimensions as it appears in projection, or whether it is caused by a chance alignment along the line of sight within a larger galaxy system.
Aims. Recent precise distance measurements help probe the nature of the nearest CG, situated in the Virgo cluster, whose dominant member is M 60.
Methods. The isolated status of the CG is reassessed with recent photometry and a statistical analysis is performed on the surface brightness fluctuation (SBF) distances measured by Mei et al. in Virgo, for 4 of the 5 CG members.
Results. The neighboring galaxy NGC 4606 appears (with 80–90% confidence) to be too faint to affect the isolated status of the CG. Taken at face value, the SBF distances suggest that M 59 and NGC 4660 lie roughly 2 Mpc to the foreground of M 60, NGC 4638, and the bulk of the Virgo cluster. The statistical analysis confirms that the CG is, indeed, the result of a chance alignment of its galaxies, with NGC 4638 lying at least 800 kpc further away (with 99% confidence) than either M 59 or NGC 4660. The first two galaxy distances are consistent with M 59 and NGC 4660 constituting a tight pair. The dominant galaxy, M 60, is at least 440 kpc more distant (95% confidence) than the M 59+NGC 4660 pair, and over 1 Mpc (99% confidence) more distant if one uses the broken linear calibration of the SBF distances.
Conclusions. This work constitutes the first direct analysis of the nature of a compact group of galaxies. Chance alignments of galaxies represent a realistic alternative to truly dense groups to explain the nature of CGs. With current SBF distance accuracies, one could determine the nature of HCG 68 in the same way.
Key words: galaxies: clusters: individual: Virgo / galaxies: distances and redshifts
© ESO, 2008
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