Ram pressure stripping conditions : Theory vs. Observation

Ram pressure stripping (RPS) which is known to be one of the key effects that can remove the interstellar gas in the dense environment, can be described as a simple momentum transfer relation (Gunn & Gott 1972). However, it has been suggested that the actual gas stripping process is likely more complicated than Gunn & Gott's prescription due to the complexity of gas physics such as compression, cooling and heating. By comparing the gas truncation radius predicted by theory with the stripping radius measured from the HI observation of Virgo cluster galaxies, we attempt to verify how well the RPS process can be understood by momentum transfer alone. Among the sample of galaxies undergoing active RPS, we generally find a good agreement between what is predicted and what is observed within the measurement uncertainties. However, those galaxies with the signs of other environmental effects than RPS such as tidal interaction, and/or the ones likely at relatively early or later stages of RPS show some offsets between the theory and the observation. These results imply that Gunn & Gott's formula works reasonably well in a broad sense when the RPS is a dominant process and the surrounding environment at the current location of the sample can be well defined. Otherwise, the impact of the second mechanism, as well as the (current and past) environment of the sample, should be more carefully reviewed to assess the impact of RPS on galaxy evolution.