The S-PLUS Fornax Project (S+FP): Mapping H

Context. The Fornax cluster, the second-largest galaxy cluster within 20 Mpc, presents an ideal environment for studying the impact of environmental effects on galaxy evolution. Utilizing data from the Southern Photometric Local Universe Survey (S-PLUS), this study explores the Hα+[N II] emission maps in Fornax and its outskirts. Aims. By mapping emission features across an area of approximately 208 square degrees around NGC 1399, this work aims to identify and characterize emission-line galaxies (ELGs) and analyze their spatial distribution, morphology, and their projected phase space (PPS) diagram. Methods. We developed a dedicated semiautomated pipeline, pixel-to-pixel emission line estimate (PELE), to generate emission line maps by processing S-PLUS images using the three-filter method. A morphological analysis was conducted using the ASTROMORPHLIB package to determine whether Hα+[N II] emitters exhibit perturbed features. Results. The study successfully detected 77 Hα+[N II] emitters with rAB<18 mag, extending to four times the virial radius of the Fornax cluster. PELE demonstrated its ability to recover flux down to ∼2×10−17 erg s−1 cm−2 when compared to Hα maps from MUSE/VLT. Among the emitters, 25% are early-type galaxies (ETGs) and 75% are late-type galaxies (LTGs). Signs of morphological perturbation or merger activity are observed in 44% of the LTGs and in three ETGs located beyond the clusters virial radius. A significant fraction (91%) of the emitters are identified as recent infallers, which are primarily located in the northwestern region of the cluster, while others are associated with the infalling group Fornax A in the southwest. Disturbed, low-mass galaxies at larger cluster-centric distances provide evidence that galaxies begin transforming before entering the main cluster. Conclusions. This study demonstrates S-PLUS's effectiveness in detecting ELGs, whose distribution reflects the Fornax cluster's assembly history; LTGs are linked to recent infall from the field, possibly along a Fornax-Eridanus filament, and ETGs may have evolved prior to entry.