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Jin-Long Xu

Publications and source records attributed to Jin-Long Xu.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

FASHI DR2: A Catalog of 132 Low-Redshift HI 21 cm Absorption Systems

We present an untargeted survey of 21 cm HI absorption systems based on the second data release of the FAST All Sky HI survey (FASHI DR2), covering approximately 19,500 deg$^{2}$ at $z\lesssim0.09$. A total of 132 HI absorbers are identified, including approximately 60 new discoveries, forming one of the largest homogeneous samples of low-redshift HI absorbers assembled to date. The sample extends to continuum flux densities as low as 2.6 mJy, substantially below the limits of previous flux-limited surveys. The absorber population is dominated by narrow systems ($W_{50}<100$ km s$^{-1}$), while broad absorbers ($W_{50}>200$ km s$^{-1}$) account for 13.6% of the sample. Most absorbers are optically thin, with a median optical depth of $\tau_{\rm HI}\approx0.14$. The velocity-offset distribution is broadly symmetric about the systemic velocities of the host galaxies. The associated absorbers are preferentially found in massive, actively star-forming galaxies. We find tentative evidence for a weak anti-correlation between HI column density and stellar mass, although the relation exhibits substantial scatter. These results provide the first statistical characterization of the low-redshift HI absorber population based on the FASHI DR2 sample and establish a valuable benchmark for future HI absorption surveys with next-generation radio facilities.

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A Catalog of Compact High-Velocity Clouds from the FAST All-Sky HI Survey (FASHI) DR2

High-velocity clouds (HVCs) -- especially compact HVCs (CHVCs) -- are thought to serve as gaseous tracers of dark-matter-dominated subhalos, providing a crucial empirical link between the predicted dark matter substructure and observed satellite galaxies. In this paper, we present a new catalog of 192 CHVCs identified from the FAST All-Sky HI Survey (FASHI) Data Release 2 (DR2). Among these, 108 are ultra-compact HVCs (UCHVCs), the majority of which are new discoveries. We find that 185 of the 192 CHVCs are spatially and kinematically concentrated around the Andromeda galaxy (M31), with a median LSR velocity of -296.1 km/s, suggesting physical association with M31. Adopting an M31 distance of 0.8 Mpc, we derive HI masses in the range 1.9*10^{5} to 4.0*10^{6} Msun and dynamical masses from 1.0*10^{7} to 6.3*10^{8} Msun. Approximately half of the CHVCs follow the baryonic Tully--Fisher relation. No optical counterparts are detected in Pan-STARRS1 imaging down to a limiting magnitude of m_g = 22.8. We conclude that these CHVCs likely represent a population of gas-rich, starless minihalos and provide an excellent sample for the search for dark galaxies.

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The FAST All Sky HI Survey DR2: the FASHI Catalog and the HI Mass Function

The FAST All Sky HI Survey (FASHI) conducted with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST) has mapped $\sim 19500\,\mathrm{deg}^2$ of the sky north of DEC $= -14^{\circ}$, detecting $156411$ extragalactic HI sources at $z< 0.09$ with a median sensitivity of $0.57\,\mathrm{mJy}\,\mathrm{beam}^{-1}$ at a velocity resolution of $6.4\,\mathrm{km}\,\mathrm{s}^{-1}$. The survey achieves unprecedented depth and area coverage, significantly improving upon previous single-dish surveys. Through a detailed completeness analysis that accounts for the survey's non-uniform sensitivity and line-width dependence, we construct a robust HI mass function (HIMF) using a completeness-corrected sample of over $109000$ sources. The HIMF is robustly constrained down to $M_{\mathrm{HI}}\sim 10^{6.2}\,M_{\odot}$. When systematic uncertainties are included, the HIMF is well described by a single-Schechter function with a characteristic mass $\log (M_{*} / h_{70}^{-2}M_{\odot}) = 9.89\pm 0.02$, low-mass end slope $\alpha = -1.31\pm 0.02$, and amplitude $\phi_{*} = (6.38\pm 0.49)\times 10^{-3}\,h_{70}^{3}\,\mathrm{Mpc}^{-3}\,\mathrm{dex}^{-1}$. The derived cosmic HI density is $\Omega_{\mathrm{HI}} = (4.71\pm 0.03_{\mathrm{stat}}\pm 0.40_{\mathrm{sys}})\times 10^{-4}\,h_{70}^{-1}$. FASHI provides the most extensive and sensitive HI catalog to date, establishing an important benchmark for studies of gas accretion, galaxy evolution, and large-scale structure in the local universe.

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Unveiling a Thin Filament of the Cosmic Web in the Ursa Major Supergroup

Filaments are crucial components of the cosmic web, representing the extensive and aligned distributions of galaxies and gas. Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we report the detection of a filament in the Ursa Major supergroup using atomic-hydrogen (HI) observations. This filament consists of sixteen various types of galaxies and five starless gas clumps, spanning a length of approximately 0.9 Mpc. Notably, it is extremely thin, with a thickness comparable to the diameter of a galaxy. We observed a galaxy-filament spin alignment and a velocity gradient within the filament. These findings strongly suggest a cold accretion flow along the filament, potentially contributing to the formation and growth of the galaxies. The thin filament, as a small group, is likely to be merged into the Ursa Major supergroup in the context of hierarchical structure formation.

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Not so-dark: High resolution HI imaging of J0139+4328 and identification of an optical counterpart

Dark galaxies - systems rich in neutral hydrogen (HI) gas but with no stars - are a common prediction of numerous theoretical models and cosmological simulations. However, the unequivocal identification of such sources in current HI surveys has proven challenging. In this work, we present interferometric follow-up observations with the VLA of a former dark galaxy candidate J0139+4328, originally detected with the single-dish FAST telescope. The improved spatial resolution of the VLA data allow us to identify a faint optical counterpart and characterize the galaxy. Located at a distance of about 31 Mpc, J0139+4328 has a stellar mass of 3 x 10^6 M_Sun and a relatively high gas richness of M_HI/M_star = 18. Despite its high ratio, the galaxy is consistent, within the scatter, with the stellar-to-HI mass relation of HI-selected samples in the literature and with the baryonic Tully-Fisher relation (BTFR), although its kinematic measurement is subject to large uncertainties. This case highlights the potential of modern high-sensitivity HI surveys for detecting low surface brightness, gas-rich galaxies, but underscores the need for careful interpretation of low-resolution HI data, with potentially large centroid errors, and for sufficiently deep optical imaging to ensure robust identification.

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Gas Accretion from a Neighbouring Galaxy Fuels the Low-luminosity AGN in NGC 4278

How a seemingly `dead' host galaxy provides fuel for its active galactic nuclei (AGN) remains an unresolved problem. Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we present a new high-sensitivity atomic-hydrogen (HI) observation toward the nearby elliptical galaxy NGC 4278 and its adjacent region. From the observation, we found that external gas accretion from a neighbouring galaxy fuels the low-luminosity AGN in NGC 4278 through tidal interactions. The accreted gas entering NGC 4278 exhibits a rotating gas disk. And the accreted galaxy has been gas-poor and has an HI to stellar mass ratio of about 0.02. Due to the process of gas accretion, it is likely that relativistic jets are generated in the AGN of NGC 4278. The emission of TeV gamma rays in NGC 4278 is likely to be associated with the newly accreted HI gas.

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Deep neutral hydrogen observations of the early-type galaxy NGC 2768: collided by a newly discovered satellite galaxy?

We present the results of a deep neutral hydrogen (Hi) observation of the early-type galaxy NGC 2768 using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Leveraging the high sensitivity of FAST, we discover an extended gas envelope around NGC 2768. The total Hi mass is measured to be 8.1 x 10^8 M_sun , representing a magnitude increase compared to previous Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT) studies. Position-velocity (PV) diagram indicates the envelope mainly involves two components: an Hi disk of NGC 2768 and a newly discovered satellite galaxy without detectable counterparts in currently deep optical surveys. The center of the gas disk is mis-aligned with the optical disk of NGC 2768, with more gas redshifted, indicating it has been disturbed. Our study indicates NGC 2768 is currently undergoing a transition from a spiral galaxy to an S0. Previous deep WSRT observations reveal two dense clumps (named as Clumps A and Clump B throughout this paper) in the center of the envelope. We find Clump A corresponds to the densest part of the disk, while Clump B might be a newly discovered satellite galaxy which probably collided NGC 2768 about 0.38 Gyr ago. We also find tidal interactions between Clump B and PGC 2599651, NGC 2768 and UGC 4808. Based on these new findings, we finally analyze hierarchical accretion history of NGC 2768.

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The FAST Ursa Major supergroup HI survey (FUMaS): catalog and HI mass function

Using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we have performed an Ursa Major supergroup HI Survey (FUMaS) covering the entire UMa region centered at RA=11$^h$59$^m$28$^s$.3, DEC=49$^\circ$05'18" with a radius of 7.5$^\circ$. We have obtained the most complete catalog of HI sources in the UMa supergroup, containing 178 HI sources with velocities in the range 625-1213.4 km s$^{-1}$ and masses in the range 10$^{6.0}$-10$^{10.1}$ M$_{\odot}$ assuming a distance of 17.4 Mpc. Among them, 55 HI sources were detected for the first time, of which 32 do not have known optical redshifts. For these 32 sources, we have searched the DESI Legacy Surveys and found optical counterparts for 25 of them (with optical images, but no redshifts), with the remaining 7 sources to be pure HI clouds without an optical counterpart. We detected HI distributions in some interacting systems and discussed four small groups in detail. We computed the HIMF of the UMa supergroup using the 1/V$_\mathrm{max}$ method and fitting it with the non-linear least squares (NLLS) and modified maximum likelihood (MML) methods. We obtained the following HIMF parameters: log$_{10}$($ϕ_*$/Mpc$^{-3}$) = -0.78 $\pm$ 0.15, $α$ = -1.05 $\pm$ 0.07 and log$_{10}$($M_*$/$M_{\odot}$) = 9.87 $\pm$ 0.19 for the NLLS method, and log$_{10}$($ϕ_*$/Mpc$^{-3}$) = -0.70 $\pm$ 0.11, $α$ = -1.05 $\pm$ 0.05 and log$_{10}$($M_*$/$M_{\odot}$) = 9.77 $\pm$ 0.13 for the MML method. This result is similar to that derived from the VLA blind survey, but the slope is steeper because we detected more low-mass galaxies. The slope is flatter than that of the global HIMF, which agrees with the theoretical prediction that galaxies in high-density regions are stripped of gas due to interactions.

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Discovery of a high-velocity cloud of the Milky Way as a potential dark galaxy

High-velocity clouds (HVCs) are composed of neutral hydrogen (HI) moving at velocities that deviate from the general rotational motion of the Milky Way. Currently, the origins of the HVCs remain poorly known due to the difficulty in determining their distance and the lack of any other suitable identification. Here we report the detection of a compact gas clump in HVC AC-I, which displays characteristics typical of a disk galaxy, named AC G185.0-11.5, using the HI observations. We estimated the distance of AC G185.0-11.5 to be about 277.7 kpc using the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation and constrained its HI gas mass to be between 3.0*10^7 and 4.7*10^8 solar masses. The distance determination indicates that the HVC AC-I hosting AC G185.0-11.5 is an extragalactic object in the Local Group. The absence of molecular gas and an optical counterpart for AC G185.0-11.5 implies that it may be a rare dark galaxy.

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FAST Discovery of A Gas-rich and Ultra-faint Dwarf Galaxy: KK153

Based on a high-sensitivity HI survey using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we identified an isolated HI cloud with a system velocity of ~127.0 km/s, which is associated with an optical galaxy KK153 in space. The HI gas of KK153 shows a typical disk-galaxy structure. Using the Baryonic Tully-Fisher relation, we obtained that the distance to KK153 is 2.0_{-0.8}^{+1.7} Mpc. Adopting such distance, we derived a stellar mass of 4.1_{-2.6}^{+10.0}*10^{5} Msun and a neutral gas fraction of 0.63, implying that KK153 is a gas-rich ultra-faint dwarf (UFD) galaxy in the Local Group or its outskirts. KK153 shows a cool (~200 K) and warm (~7400 K) two-phase neutral medium. The g-r color distribution of KK153 suggests that new stars are mostly forming in its inner disk. The dynamical mass of KK153 is 6.9_{-3.0}^{+5.5}*10^{7} Msun, which is about 60 times larger than its baryonic matter. Detection of such a low-mass and gas-rich halo poses a challenge to the theory of cosmic reionization.

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FASHI: An untargeted survey of the 21 cm HI absorption galaxies with FAST

The FAST All Sky H I survey (FASHI) will cover the entire observable sky ($\sim$22000 square degrees) with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). With the currently released data, we perform an untargeted survey of 21 cm HI absorption galaxies at redshift $z\lesssim0.09$ over an area of about 10000 square degrees. We have detected 51 HI absorbers, including 21 previously known and 30 new ones. The probability of occurrence for the HI absorbers in all HI galaxies is 1/1078. The radio flux densities of the FASHI absorbers are mainly concentrated in the range of $S_{\rm 1.4GHz}=10\sim100$ mJy, but also as low as $2.6\pm0.4$ mJy. We find that the host galaxies of the associated HI absorbers have relatively high star formation rates, and there is a negative correlation between the HI column density and the stellar mass in the host galaxy. Consequently, FAST has significantly improved the capabilities and performance for HI absorption observations and has provided a true untargeted survey of 21 cm HI absorption galaxies for such studies.

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Deep HI Mapping of M 106 Group with FAST

We used FAST to conduct deep HI imaging of the entire M 106 group region, and have discovered a few new HI filaments and clouds. Three HI clouds/filaments are found in a region connecting DDO 120 and NGC 4288, indicating an interaction between these two galaxies. The HI features in this region suggest that DDO 120 is probably the origin of the HI stream extending from the northern end of NGC 4288 to M 106. This structure is similar to the SMC-LMC stream, but much longer, about 190 kpc. Furthermore, based on the distance measurements, we have determined the satellite galaxy members of M 106. With an absolute magnitude cutoff of M_B=-10, we obtained a sample of 11 member satellite galaxies for M 106. Using the observed HI mass with FAST, we studied the properties of satellite galaxies in M 106 and found that satellite galaxies with lower stellar masses exhibit more significant deviations from the star-forming main sequence (SFMS) in their specific star formation rates. Furthermore, the relationship between the HI mass of satellite galaxies and optical diameter generally follows the field galaxies relation. We discuss the possible mechanisms leading to the quenching in the M 106 group based on the new data from FAST

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New HI observations Toward the NGC 5055 Galaxy Group with FAST

We report a new high-sensitivity HI mapping observation of the NGC 5055 galaxy group over an area of $1.^\circ5\times0.^\circ75$ with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Our observation reveals that the warped H\,{\sc i} disk of NGC~5055 is more extended than what previously observed by WSRT, out to $ 23.'9$ (61.7 kpc). The total HI mass of NGC 5055 is determined to be $\rm\sim 1.1\times10^{10}\,M_\odot$. We identified three HI clouds with HI masses of the order of $\rm \sim 10^7\,M_\odot$ at the southeastern edge of the HI disk, as well as a candidate high-velocity cloud with an HI mass of $\rm (1.2\pm0.5) \times10^6\,M_\odot$ to the north of NGC 5055. The HI content of UGCA 337 is robustly detected for the first time by the FAST observations. It has a narrow HI linewidth of $W_{50}=17.4\pm3.8$ km s$^{-1}$ with a total \HI\ mass of ($\rm 3.5\pm0.3)\times10^6\,M_\odot$. Comparing the gas content and g-r color of UGCA 337 with typical low-mass dwarf galaxies, UGCA~337 appears relatively gas-poor despite its blue color. This suggests that UGCA 337 may have undergone gas stripping in the past. We also analyzed the possible origin of the diffuse HI clouds located at the outskirts of NGC 5055, and speculate that they might be the remnant features of a merger event in the past.

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FAST observations of neutral hydrogen in the interacting galaxies NGC 3395/3396

We report on high-sensitivity neutral hydrogen observations toward the gas-rich interacting galaxies NGC 3395/3396 with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Compared to previous observations carried out by the Very Large Array (VLA) and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope (WSRT), a more extended HI envelope around this system has been detected. The total HI gas mass of the NGC 3395/3396 system is estimated to be 7.8 x 109 M. This value is 2.7 times more than that reported based on the VLA interferometric maps. Previous observations found a large HI tail extending to the south-west and a minor tail emerging from the north of this peculiar galaxy pair. Based on the high-sensitivity observations of FAST, an extended HI plume to the north-west and a gas plume to the north-east have been detected for the first time. Neutral hydrogen of the two smaller galaxies IC 2604 and IC 2608 on the south of the system have also been detected. We discuss the origins of these extra gas and possible tidal interactions between these galaxies. NGC 3395/3396's most prominent tidal feature, the south-west tail combined with the new detected north-west plume behaves like a large ring. We suggest the ring might be formed by the previous fly-by interaction between NGC 3395 and NGC 3396 which happened 500 Myr ago. Our study shows that high-sensitivity HI observations are important in revealing low column density gas, which is crucial to a deeper understanding of this interacting system.

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FASHI: A search for extragalactic OH megamasers with FAST

The FAST All Sky HI survey (FASHI) is broader in frequency band and sky volume, and deeper in detection sensitivity than the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA survey (ALFALFA). To efficiently expand the sample of OH megamasers (OHMs), whose strongest line has a rest frequency of 1667.35903 MHz, we directly matched the IRAS Point Source Catalog Redshift (PSCz) catalog with the corresponding FASHI data cube. From 145 PSCz sources already covered by FASHI, we obtained 27 OHMs with a detection rate of 18.6%, including 9 previously known and 18 new ones, within a redshift range of $0.14314\lesssim z_{\rm OH} \lesssim0.27656$. We also measured the hyperfine ratio of nine OHMs between the 1667 and 1665 MHz lines. The ratio ranges from 1.32 to 15.22, with an average of $R_{1667:1665}=4.74$. In a fit to the $L_{\rm OH}$ vs. $L_{\rm FIR}$ relation, we have ${\rm log}L_{\rm OH}= (1.57\pm0.10){\rm log}L_{\rm FIR}-(15.80\pm1.19)$, which is almost the same as derived from previous observations. As expected, since the OHM sample was selected by cross-correlation with the IRAS-selected PSCz, our detected OHMs are [ultra]luminous infrared galaxies ([U]LIRGs). However, not all [U]LIRGs have detectable OH emission, suggesting that the OH emission may be triggered within a specific stage of the merger or can only be seen in specific orientations. In general, FAST, with its 19-beam array and UWB receiver, will be a powerful tool for observing more OHMs and unraveling their mystery in the future.

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Formation of a massive lenticular galaxy under the tidal interaction with a group of dwarf galaxies

Based on the atomic-hydrogen (HI) observations using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), we present a detailed study of the gas-rich massive S0 galaxy NGC 1023 in a nearby galaxy group. The presence of an HI extended warped disk in NGC 1023 indicates that this S0 galaxy originated from a spiral galaxy. The data also suggest that NGC 1023 is interacting with four dwarf galaxies. In particular, one of the largest dwarf galaxies has fallen into the gas disk of NGC 1023, forming a rare bright-dark galaxy pair with a large gas clump. This clump shows the signature of a galaxy but has no optical counterpart, implying that it is a newly formed starless galaxy. Our results firstly suggest that a massive S0 galaxy in a galaxy group can form via the morphological transformation from a spiral under the joint action of multiple tidal interactions.

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High sensitivity HI image of diffuse gas and new tidal features in M51 observed by FAST

We observed the classical interacting galaxy M51 with FAST and obtain high sensitivity HI image with column density down to 3.8 $\times$ 10$^{18}$ cm$^{-2}$. In the image we can see a diffuse extended envelope around the system and several new tidal features. We also get a deeper look at M51b's probable gas, which has an approximated velocity range of 560 to 740 km s$^{-1}$ and a flux of 7.5 Jy km s$^{-1}$. Compared to the VLA image, we observe more complete structures of the Southeast Tail, Northeast Cloud and Northwest Plume, as well as new features of the Northwest Cloud and Southwest Plume. M51's most prominent tidal feature, the Southeast Tail, looks very long and broad, in addition with two small detached clouds at the periphery. Due to the presence of optical and simulated counterparts, the Northwest cloud appears to be the tail of M51a, while the Northwest Plume is more likely a tidal tail of M51b. The large mass of the Northwest Plume suggests that M51b may have been as gas-rich as M51a before the interaction. In addition, the formation process of the Northeast Cloud and Southwest Plume is obscured by the lack of optical and simulated counterparts. These novel tidal features, together with M51b's probable gas, will inspire future simulations and provide a deeper understanding of the evolution of this interacting system.

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Discovery of an isolated dark dwarf galaxy in the nearby universe

Based on a new HI survey using the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST), combined with the Pan-STARRS1 images, we identified an isolated HI cloud without any optical counterpart, named FAST J0139+4328. The newly discovered HI cloud appears to be a typical disk galaxy since it has a double-peak shape in the global HI profile and an S-like rotation structure in the velocity-position diagram. Moreover, this disk galaxy has an extremely low absolute magnitude (M_B>-10.0 mag) and stellar mass (<6.9*10^5 Msun). Furthermore, we obtained that the HI mass of this galaxy is 8.3*10^7 Msun, and the dynamical mass to total baryonic mass ratio is 47+-27, implying that dark matter dominates over baryons in FAST J0139+4328. These findings provide observational evidence that FAST J0139+4328 is an isolated dark dwarf galaxy with a redshift of z=0.0083. This is the first time that an isolated dark galaxy has been detected in the nearby universe.

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