Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS): Exploring the nature of ultra-diffuse galaxies in the Hydra-I cluster

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Context. This paper presents a detailed analysis of a gas-rich star-forming ultra-diffuse galaxy (UDG) as part of the ESO Large Programme Looking into the faintEst WIth MUSE (LEWIS). Among the UDGs in the LEWIS sample, UDG 6 is the only galaxy that hosts a significant amount of ionised gas with evidence of emission lines, suggesting recent star-forming activity. Aims. The main goal of this work is to constrain the formation history of this UDG by comparing its properties with the main formation scenarios proposed for this extreme class of galaxies. Methods. We adopted integral field spectroscopy from MUSE to derive the morphology and the structural properties of the stellar and gas components of UDG 6. We applied spectral fitting and Voronoi tessellation algorithms to the MUSE data-cube to derive the kinematics and properties of the gas and stellar component, explore gas dynamics, and characterise emission lines. Moreover, we derived the properties of the globular cluster (GC) populations by applying a multi-band spectrophotometric analysis. Results. We confirmed that UDG 6 is a member of the Hydra I cluster and that it has a systemic velocity of V sys, * ∼ 3580 km s −1 . It is characterised by a regular and elongated shape and contains a significant dust content ( A V = 1.2 ± 0.5 mag), a metal-poor (12 + log 10 (O/H) = 7.7 ± 0.2 dex) ionised gas fraction ( f gas = 0.24 ± 0.08), and an underlying old-to-intermediate (≳3 Gyr) stellar component. Evidence of local and clumpy star-forming activity has been revealed through the analysis of emission line ratios, and an arc-like tidal feature was discovered from unsharp masking analysis. The number counts of GCs in UDG 6 is N GC = 0.2 ± 5.4. Conclusions. Similar to the other UDGs in LEWIS, UDG 6 might originate from a “puffed-up dwarf” whose stellar content has been stretched out to larger radii, passively evolving into a more diffuse galaxy. Since UDG 6 is located in a dynamically active region of the cluster characterised by tidal features and stripping phenomena, we suggest that the environmental processes have played a role in shaping its properties. A tidal interaction with a nearby galaxy might have triggered recent star-formation activity without dramatically altering the coherent gas rotation in UDG 6.