Morphology Driven Evolution of Barred Galaxies in OMEGAWINGS Clusters

We present a study of barred galaxies in the cluster environment, exploiting a sample of galaxies drawn from the extended WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (OmegaWINGS) that covers up to the outer regions of 32 local X-ray selected clusters. Barred galaxies are identified through a semiautomatic analysis of ellipticity and position angle profiles. We find, in agreement with previous studies, a strong codependence of the bar fraction with the galaxy stellar mass and morphological type, being maximum for massive late-type galaxies. The fraction of barred galaxies decreases with increasing cluster mass and with decreasing clustercentric distance, a dependence that vanishes once we control for morphological type, which indicates that the likelihood of a galaxy hosting a bar in the cluster environment is determined by its morphological transformation. At large clustercentric distances, we detect a dependence on the distance to the nearest neighbor galaxy, suggesting that tidal forces with close companions are able to suppress the formation of bars or even destroy them. Barred galaxies in our sample are either early-type, star-forming galaxies located within the virial radii of the clusters or late-type quenched galaxies found beyond the virial radii of the clusters. We propose a scenario in which already quenched barred galaxies that fall into the clusters are centrally rejuvenated by the interplay of the perturbed gas by ram pressure and the bar, in galaxies that are undergoing a morphological transformation.

Automated summary

This study examines barred galaxies in the cluster environment using a sample of galaxies from the OmegaWINGS survey. The results show a strong correlation between the fraction of barred galaxies and stellar mass and morphological type, with the highest fraction found in massive late-type galaxies. The presence of a bar in a cluster environment is determined by the morphological transformation of the galaxy, independent of cluster mass and clustercentric distance. Tidal forces from close companion galaxies can suppress or destroy the formation of bars. The barred galaxies in the sample are either early-type, star-forming galaxies within the clusters or late-type quenched galaxies located beyond the clusters' boundaries. We propose a scenario where quenched barred galaxies that enter clusters are rejuvenated by the interaction between perturbed gas and the bar during morphological transformation.