The origin of H I-deficiency in galaxies on the outskirts of the Virgo cluster: I. How far can galaxies bounce out of clusters?

Abstract

Spiral galaxies that are deficient in neutral hydrogen are observed on the outskirts of the Virgo cluster. If their orbits have crossed the inner parts of the cluster, their interstellar gas may have been lost through ram pressure stripping by the hot X-ray emitting gas of the cluster. We estimate the maximum radius out to which galaxies can bounce out of a virialized system using analytical arguments and cosmological N-body simulations. In particular, we derive an expression for the turnaround radius in a flat cosmology with a cosmological constant that is simpler than previously derived expressions. We find that the maximum radius reached by infalling galaxies as they bounce out of their cluster is roughly between 1 and 2.5 virial radii. Comparing to the virial radius of the Virgo cluster, which we estimate from X-ray observations, these H i-deficient galaxies appear to lie significantly further away from the cluster center. Therefore, if their distances to the cluster core are correct, the H I-deficient spiral galaxies found outside of the Virgo cluster cannot have lost their gas by ram pressure from the hot intracluster gas.