Ram pressure stripping in elliptical galaxies - II. Magnetic field effects

We investigate the effects of magnetic fields and turbulence on ram pressure stripping in elliptical galaxies using ideal magnetohydrodynamic simulations. We consider weakly magnetized interstellar medium (ISM) characterized by subsonic turbulence, and two orientations of the magnetic fields in the intracluster medium (ICM) - parallel and perpendicular to the direction of the galaxy motion through the ICM. While the stronger turbulence enhances the ram pressure stripping mass-loss, the magnetic fields tend to suppress the stripping rates, and the suppression is stronger for parallel fields. However, the effect of magnetic fields on the mass stripping rate is mild. Nevertheless, the morphology of the stripping tails depends significantly on the direction of the ICM magnetic field. The effect of the magnetic field geometry on the tail morphology is much stronger than that of the level of the ISM turbulence. The tail has a highly collimated shape for parallel fields, while it has a sheet-like morphology in the plane of the ICM magnetic field for perpendicular fields. The magnetic field in the tail is amplified irrespectively of the orientation of the ICM field. More strongly magnetized regions in the ram pressure stripping tails are expected to have systematically higher metallicity due to the strong concentration of the stripped ISM than the less magnetized regions. Strong dependence of the morphology of the stripped ISM on the magnetic field could potentially be used to constrain the relative orientation of the ram pressure direction and the dominant component of the ICM magnetic field.