The magellanic impact collision between the outer galactic H I disk and the leading arms of the magellanic stream

Kenji Bekki*, Masashi Chiba, N. M. McClure-Griffiths

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

We show that collisions between the outer Galactic H I disk and the leading arms (LAs) of the Magellanic stream (MS) can create giant H I holes and chimney-like structures in the disk. Based on the results of our Nbody simulations of the last 2.5 Gyr of evolution of the interaction of the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds (LMC and SMC, respectively) with the Galaxy, we investigate when and where the LAs can pass through the Galactic plane after the MS formation. We then investigate hydrodynamical interaction between LAs and the Galactic H I disk ("the Magellanic impact") by using our new hydrodynamical simulations with somewhat idealized models of the LAs. We find that about l%-3% of the initial gas mass of the SMC, which consists of the LAs, can pass through the outer part (R = 20-35 kpc) of the Galactic H I disk about 0.2 Gyr ago. We also find that the Magellanic impact can push out some fraction (∼1%) of the outer Galactic H I disk to form 1-10 kpc-scale H I holes and chimney-like bridges between the LAs and the disk.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)L17-L20
JournalAstrophysical Journal
Volume672
Issue number1 PART 2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2008
Externally publishedYes

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