Star Formation in the Tidal Tail of the Leo Triplet Galaxy NGC 3628

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Deep CCD images of the Leo Triplet in the B and I bands were obtained with the Burrell-Schmidt telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory to study the ~80 kpc stellar tail, or "plume," extending from NGC 3628, which resulted from the tidal effects of its companion galaxies NGC 3627 and NGC 3623. This plume consists of clumpy star formation regions that are near previously measured high-resolution H I peaks. Comparison of our B-I colors and B luminosities with star cluster evolution models indicates star-forming ages of a few times 108 years and complex masses of 106 M☉, corresponding to a star formation efficiency of 3% overall in the plume, or about 26% at the H I peaks.