Speaker
Description
Interacting galaxies provide the critical mechanism for linking young massive star clusters (YMCs) and neutral hydrogen (HI): the intense starbursts they trigger form YMCs, and the subsequent stellar feedback from these clusters (e.g., stellar winds, supernovae) dramatically sculpts the surrounding HI gas. This impact of stellar feedback on the HI distribution and kinematics is a critical, yet unquantified, aspect of galaxy evolution, as current studies lack the necessary combined angular and spectral resolution. We address this gap with an unprecedented high-resolution study of nearby interacting galaxies using HST photometry and MeerKAT HI observations. Our goal is to quantify the spatial and kinematic influence of YMC stellar feedback on the HI gas in order to define any correlation between YMC formation and subsequent gas dynamics. We first use HST multiband photometry of the interacting galaxies NGC 7552 and NGC 5427 to derive the YMC ages, masses, and extinction via SED fitting. We then map HI distribution and kinematics using MeerKAT/MeerChoirs HI data to identify gas structures (e.g., shells and inflows). We cross-correlate YMC populations with these HI features, quantifying kinematic associations (e.g., searching for HI cavities and broadened velocity dispersion) to assess feedback. Initial photometric analysis confirms several thousand star cluster candidates across both galaxies, concentrated within vigorous star-forming regions. This concentrated distribution is crucial, enabling a statistical assessment of how cluster properties drive the characteristics of HI kinematic disturbances. Furthermore, preliminary analysis of the HI moment maps suggests complex gas kinematics, revealing large-scale features and regions of disturbed gas motion consistent with massive stellar energy injection. These combined HST and MeerKAT results establish the foundation for a direct kinematic-photometric comparison, promising crucial new constraints on the HI gas consumption timescale and cluster formation efficiency in dynamic environments.
| Stream | Science or Engineering |
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