20–27 Mar 2026
Wild View Resorts
Africa/Gaborone timezone

Neutral Hydrogen, HI, in the Shapley Supercluster Core: Environmental Effects on Gas Content and Galaxy Evolution

26 Mar 2026, 11:00
15m
Wild View Resorts

Wild View Resorts

Plot 80 President Avenue, Kasane, Botswana
In-person - Talk 6 Galaxy Clusters Science & Engineering

Speaker

Lwandile Gwebushe (Rhodes University)

Description

We present MeerKAT HI observations of galaxies in the core of the Shapley Supercluster, one of the most massive structures in the local Universe. Our sample of HI-detected galaxies in A3558 and SC1329 allows us to examine how cold-gas content and star formation evolve in an extreme, high-density environment. Galaxies in the SSC-core lie systematically below field HI scaling relations, showing depleted gas fractions and extended depletion timescales. Despite retaining substantial HI reservoirs, many systems exhibit inefficient or suppressed star formation, indicating slow quenching driven by reduced gas accretion, tidal interactions, and weak or partial ram-pressure stripping. Disturbed HI morphologies support ongoing environmental processes. These results point to a gradual, multi-stage transformation of galaxies as they move through the densest nodes of the supercluster, extending environmental quenching studies into the supercluster regime.

Stream Science or Engineering

Primary author

Lwandile Gwebushe (Rhodes University)

Presentation materials

There are no materials yet.