H I study of isolated and paired galaxies: The MIR SFR-M* sequence

Using mid-infrared star formation rate and stellar mass indicators in WISE (Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer), we construct and contrast the relation between star formation rate and stellar mass for isolated and paired galaxies. Our samples comprise a selection of AMIGA (Analysis of the interstellar Medium in Isolated GAlaxies; isolated galaxies) and pairs of ALFALFA (Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA) galaxies with H I detections such that we can examine the relationship between H I content (gas fraction, H I deficiency) and galaxy location on the main sequence (MS) in these two contrasting environments. We derive for the first time an H I scaling relation for isolated galaxies using WISE stellar masses, and thereby establish a baseline predictor of H I content that can be used to assess the impact of environment on H I content when compared with samples of galaxies in different environments. We use this updated relation to determine the H I deficiency of both our paired and isolated galaxies. Across all the quantities examined as a function of environment in this work (MS location, gas fraction, and H I deficiency), the AMIGA sample of isolated galaxies is found to have the lower dispersion: σ AMIGA = 0.37 versus σ PAIRS = 0.55 on the MS, σ AMIGA = 0.44 versus σ PAIRS = 0.54 in gas fraction, and σ AMIGA = 0.28 versus σ PAIRS = 0.34 in H I deficiency. We also note fewer isolated quiescent galaxies, 3 (0.6 per cent), compared to 12 (2.3 per cent) quiescent pair members. Our results suggest the differences in scatter measured between our samples are environment driven. Galaxies in isolation behave relatively predictably, and galaxies in more densely populated environments adopt a more stochastic behaviour, across a broad range of quantities. © 2020 The Author(s)This work is based on the research supported in part by the National Research Foundation of South Africa (Grant Numbers UID: 101099 and 111745). JB additionally acknowledges support from the DST-NRF Professional Development Programme (PDP), and the University of Cape Town. MEC is a recipient of an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (project number FT170100273) funded by the Australian Government. THJ acknowledges funding from the National Research Foundation under the Research Career Advancement and South African Research Chair Initiative programmes, respectively. We acknowledge the work of the entire ALFALFA team for observing, flagging, and performing signal extraction. MGJ is supported by a Juan de la Cierva formaci?n fellowship (FJCI-2016-29685) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovaci?n y Universidades (MCIU). MGJ also acknowledges support from the grants AYA2015-65973-C3-1- R (MINECO/FEDER, UE) and RTI2018-096228-BC31 (MCIU). This work has been supported by the State Agency for Research of the Spanish MCIU through the 'Centro de Excelencia Severo Ochoa' award to the Instituto de Astrof?sica de Andaluc?a (SEV-2017-0709). This publication makes use of data products from the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, which is a joint project of the University of California, Los Angeles, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory/California Institute of Technology, funded by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. This work also utilizes data from Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) survey data set obtained with the Arecibo L-band Feed Array (ALFA) on the Arecibo 305-m telescope. Arecibo Observatory is part of the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, which is operated by Cornell University under Cooperative Agreement with the U.S. National Science Foundation. Funding for the SDSS and SDSS-II has been provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the Participating Institutions, the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Japanese Monbukagakusho, the Max Planck Society, and the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The SDSS Web Site is http://www.sdss.org/. In addition, we make use of data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS DR7). The SDSS is managed by the Astrophysical Research Consortium for the Participating Institutions. The Participating Institutions are the American Museum of Natural History, Astrophysical Institute Potsdam, University of Basel, University of Cambridge, Case Western Reserve University, University of Chicago, Drexel University, Fermilab, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Japan Participation Group, Johns Hopkins University, the Joint Institute for Nuclear Astrophysics, the Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, the Korean Scientist Group, the Chinese Academy of Sciences (LAMOST), Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy (MPIA), the Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics (MPA), New Mexico State University, Ohio State University, University of Pittsburgh, University of Portsmouth, Princeton University, the United States Naval Observatory, and the University of WashingtonPeer reviewe