Circumgalactic medium depletion drives satellite quenching in IllustrisTNG

Abstract

Satellite galaxies dominate the quenched population at low stellar masses ($M_\star \lesssim 10^{10}~\rm M_\odot$), yet identifying which processes shut down their star formation, their relative importance, and on what timescales, remains a central problem in galaxy evolution. We use MaNGA-like mock galaxies from IllustrisTNG to dissect different satellite quenching pathways, paying special attention to the role of the circumgalactic medium (CGM) during quenching phase. We reconstruct the baryonic, dark matter, structural, and chemical histories of $\sim$7 300 galaxies (2 800 satellites), using time since infall as the physical axis along which quenching unfolds. Satellites retain rotation-supported stellar kinematics throughout quenching, with disturbed velocity fields confined to systems with $M_\star \lesssim 10^{10.5}~\rm M_\odot$. For the first time, we present the coupled time evolution of the depletion of both the hot and cool gas reservoirs after infall: satellites lose $\sim$90% of their hot CGM within $\sim$$4.2^{+0.6}_{-0.6}$ Gyr, increasing with residence time and independent of stellar mass. The hot gas mass correlates strongly with SFR, establishing the CGM as the long-term fuel reservoir, unlike quenched centrals, which retain massive hot halos likely maintained by AGN feedback. Present-day quenched satellites were accreted earlier than star-forming ones (6.5$^{+0.3}_{-0.3}$ vs. 4.3$^{+0.3}_{-0.3}$ Gyr ago), forming stars for at least $\sim$3 Gyr after infall before declining sharply, consistent with a delayed-then-rapid quenching scenario. Losing little stellar mass, yet with their gas depleted and their dark matter and metal-poor stellar outskirts tidally stripped, satellites emerge more compact and metal-rich than centrals at fixed mass. Our results suggest the gradual erosion of the hot CGM as the key link connecting infall to the slow shutdown of star formation.