New H I observations of KK 69. Is KK 69 a dwarf galaxy in transition?

Abstract

We present new H I data of the dwarf galaxy KK 69, obtained with the Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) with a signal-to-noise ratio almost double previous observations. We carried out a Gaussian spectral decomposition and stacking methods to identify the cold neutral medium (CNM) and the warm neutral medium (WNM) of the H I gas. We found that 30% of the total H I gas, which corresponds to a mass of ∼10⁷ M_⊙, is in the CNM phase. The distribution of the H I in KK 69 is not symmetric. Our GMRT H I intensity map of KK 69 overlaid onto a Hubble Space Telescope image reveals an offset of ∼4 kpc between the H I high-density region and the stellar body, indicating it may be a dwarf transitional galaxy. The offset, along with the potential truncation of the H I body, are evidence of interaction with the central group spiral galaxy NGC 2683, indicating the H I gas is being stripped from KK 69. Additionally, we detected extended H I emission of a dwarf galaxy member of the group as well as a possible new galaxy located near the north-eastern part of the NGC 2683 H I disk.