The molecular gas of four ram pressure stripped galaxies in the core of the Hydra I cluster

Abstract: We present new CO(1-0) measurements from ALMA and new HI measurements from MeerKAT in four ram pressure stripped (RPS) galaxies in the core of the Hydra I cluster: NGC 3312, NGC 3314a, NGC 3314b and LEDA 753342. These deep data, with compatible spatial resolution in CO and HI ($\sim15&#39;&#39;$, $\sim$4 kpc), help increase the low statistics of galaxies observed in CO at extreme infall stage for probing how molecular and atomic gas behave under high ICM pressures. We studied the cold gas morphologies of these galaxies, and found asymmetries in their detected CO disks with respect to their HI and optical disks. No stripped CO was found in the tails, which could support the scenario that H$<em>2$ displays morphological and velocity asymmetries in the disks before being stripped. We then compared the H$</em>{2}$/HI ratios and H$<em>{2}$ vs. HI deficiencies between the four Hydra I galaxies, the xCOLDGASS sample dominated by field galaxies and VIVA-VERTICO Virgo RPS galaxies. LEDA 753342 ($\rm log~M</em>{\star}/M_{\odot} = 8.6$) is below the stellar mass limit of the reference samples ($\rm log~M_{\star}/M_{\odot} = 9$), but its $\rm M_{H_2}/M_{HI}$ and cold gas deficiencies are compatible with lower stellar mass field and Virgo cluster galaxies. NGC 3312 and NGC 3314a are in an intermediate stage between field galaxies and more advanced RPS Virgo galaxies. NGC 3314b is more consistent with Virgo galaxies more advanced in RPS, than with field galaxies. We reason that LEDA 753342 is at a very early stage of RPS, that NGC 3314a and NGC 3312 are at a similar timescale of early but very active RPS with differences potentially due to unequal initial total baryonic mass and infall angles, and that NGC 3314b is the latest stage in RPS in the sample. These galaxies display RPS across different evolutionary stages, and suggest that RPS starts affecting the CO reservoir before it starts being stripped from the galaxy.