Evolution Of Galaxy Clusters Research Articles

The Three Hundred: The existence of massive dark matter-deficient satellite galaxies in cosmological simulations

The observation of a massive galaxy with an extremely low dark matter content (i.e. NGC 1277) has posed questions about how such objects form and evolve in a hierarchical universe. We here report on the finding of several massive, dark matter-deficient galaxies in a set of 324 galaxy clusters theoretically modelled by means of full-physics hydrodynamical simulations. We first focus on two example galaxies selected amongst the most massive and dark matter-deficient ones. By tracing the evolution of these galaxies, we find that their lack of dark matter is a result of multiple pericentre passages. While orbiting their host halo, tidal interactions gradually strip away dark matter while preserving the stellar component. A statistical analysis of all massive satellite galaxies in the simulated clusters shows that the stellar-to-total mass ratio today is strongly influenced by the number of orbits and the distance at pericentres. Galaxies with more orbits and closer pericentres are more dark matter-deficient. Additionally, we find that massive, dark matter-deficient galaxies at the present day are either the remnants of very massive galaxies at infall or former central galaxies of infalling groups. We conclude that such massive yet dark matter-deficient galaxies exist and are natural by-products of typical cluster galaxy evolution, with no specific requirement for an exotic formation scenario.

The first high-redshift cavity power measurements of cool-core galaxy clusters with the International LOFAR Telescope

Radio-mode feedback associated with the active galactic nuclei (AGNs) at the cores of galaxy clusters injects a large amount of energy into the intracluster medium (ICM), offsetting radiative losses through X-ray emission. This mechanism prevents the ICM from rapidly cooling down and fueling extreme starburst activity as it accretes onto the central galaxies, and it is therefore a key ingredient in the evolution of galaxy clusters. However, the influence and mode of feedback at high redshifts (z ∼ 1) remains largely unknown. Low-frequency sub-arcsecond-resolution radio observations taken with the International LOFAR Telescope have demonstrated their ability to assist X-ray observations with constraining the energy output from the AGNs (or “cavity power”) in galaxy clusters, thereby enabling research at higher redshifts than before. In this pilot project, we tested this hybrid method on a high-redshift (0.6 < z < 1.3) sample of 13 galaxy clusters for the first time with the aim of verifying the performance of this method at these redshifts and providing the first estimates of the cavity power associated with the central AGN for a sample of distant clusters. We were able to detect clear radio lobes in three out of 13 galaxy clusters at redshifts of 0.7 < z < 0.9, and we used these detections in combination with ICM pressures surrounding the radio lobes obtained from standard profiles to calculate the corresponding cavity powers of the AGNs. Combining our results with the literature, the current data appear to suggest that the average cavity power peaked at a redshift of z ∼ 0.4 and slowly decreases toward higher redshifts. However, we require more and tighter constraints on the cavity volume and a better understanding of our observational systematics to confirm any deviation of the cavity power trend from a constant level.

The case for hot-mode accretion in Abell 2029

ABSTRACT Radiative cooling and active galactic nucleus heating are thought to form a feedback loop that regulates the evolution of low-redshift cool-core galaxy clusters. Numerical simulations suggest that the formation of multiphase gas in the cluster core imposes a floor on the ratio of cooling time (tcool) to free-fall time (tff) at min(tcool/tff) ≈ 10. Observations of galaxy clusters show evidence for such a floor, and usually the cluster cores with min(tcool/tff) ≲ 30 contain abundant multiphase gas. However, there are important outliers. One of them is Abell 2029 (A2029), a massive galaxy cluster (M200 ≳ 1015 M⊙) with min(tcool/tff) ∼ 20, but little apparent multiphase gas. In this paper, we present high-resolution 3D hydrodynamic adaptive mesh refinement simulations of a cluster similar to A2029 and study how it evolves over a period of 1–2 Gyr. Those simulations suggest that A2029 self-regulates without producing multiphase gas because the mass of its central black hole (${\sim} 5 \times 10^{10} \, \mathrm{ M}_\odot$) is great enough for Bondi accretion of hot ambient gas to produce enough feedback energy to compensate for radiative cooling.

How time weathers galaxies: The temporal impact of the cluster environment on galaxy formation and evolution

Abstract We illuminate the altered evolution of galaxies in clusters compared to central galaxies by tracking galaxies in the IllustrisTNG300 simulation as they enter isolated clusters of mass 1013 < M200, mean/M⊙ < 1015 (at z = 0). We demonstrate significant trends in galaxy properties with residence time (time since first infall) and that there is a population of galaxies that remain star-forming even many Gyrs after their infall. By comparing the properties of galaxies at their infall time to their properties at z = 0, we show how scaling relations, like the stellar-to-halo mass ratio, shift as galaxies live in the cluster environment. Galaxies with a residence time of 10 Gyr increase their stellar-to-halo mass ratio, by around 1 dex. As measurements of the steepest slope of the galaxy cluster number density profile (Rst), frequently used as a proxy for the splashback radius, have been shown to depend strongly on galaxy selection, we show how Rst depends on galaxy residence time. Using galaxies with residence times less than one cluster crossing time (≈5 Gyr) to measure Rst leads to significant offsets relative to using the entire galaxy population. Galaxies must have had the opportunity to ‘splash back’ to the first caustic to trace out a representative value of Rst, potentially leading to issues for galaxy surveys using UV-selected galaxies. Our work demonstrates that the evolution of cluster galaxies continues well into their lifetime in the cluster and departs from a typical central galaxy evolutionary path.

Spatial Distribution of Intracluster Light versus Dark Matter in Horizon Run 5

One intriguing approach for studying the dynamical evolution of galaxy clusters is to compare the spatial distributions among various components such as dark matter, member galaxies, gas, and intracluster light (ICL). Utilizing the recently introduced weighted overlap coefficient (WOC), we analyze the spatial distributions of components within 174 galaxy clusters (M tot > 5 × 1013 M ⊙, z = 0.625) at varying dynamical states in the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation Horizon Run 5. We observe that the distributions of gas and the combination of ICL with the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) closely resembles the dark matter distribution, particularly in more relaxed clusters, characterized by the half-mass epoch. The similarity in spatial distribution between dark matter and BCG+ICL mimics the changes in the dynamical state of clusters during a major merger. Notably, at redshifts >1, BCG+ICL traced dark matter more accurately than the gas. Additionally, we examined the one-dimensional radial profiles of each component, which show that the BCG+ICL is a sensitive component revealing the dynamical state of clusters. We propose a new method that can approximately recover the dark matter profile by scaling the BCG+ICL radial profile. Furthermore, we find a recipe for tracing dark matter in unrelaxed clusters by including the most massive satellite galaxies together with the BCG+ICL distribution. Combining the BCG+ICL and the gas distribution enhances the dark matter tracing ability. Our results imply that the BCG+ICL distribution is an effective tracer for the dark matter distribution, and the similarity of the spatial distribution may be a useful probe of the dynamical state of a cluster.

Probing the evolution of galaxy clusters using SZ effect and non-thermal emission: First results from A1413

Mass is the most fundamental property of galaxy clusters. However, measuring it is still a challenge. Calibrating mass from intracluster medium observables such as the Sunyaev-Zel’dovich (SZ) effect is subject to uncertainty and biases because of the hydrostatic equilibrium assumption. On the other hand, merging cluster systems have been shown to exhibit radio emission which implies a link with disturbances from hydrostatic equilibrium. We present work on studying deviations of galaxy cluster gas pressure profile from the average (universal) pressure profile using an example of galaxy cluster Abell 1413 with SZ effect data from the Arcminute Microkelvin Imager and Planck. This cluster has also been observed at low radio frequency with the Murchison Widefield Array allowing the investigation of links between gas pressure profile deviations and the presence of radio emission.

Planck and SPT cluster catalogs: A combined analysis

We show the results for the first combined analysis of clusters detected by the Planck satellite and the South Pole Telescope. The combination of these two experiments, with different resolution, mass and redshift range, allows to track the full cosmological evolution of galaxy clusters and the interplay between astrophysics and cosmology. In particular, we exploit the cosmological constraining power of SPT-SZ clusters to provide an independent calibration of Planck scaling relations, and therefore a new estimation of Planck cluster masses. Combining the two cluster catalogs we are thus able to test the hypotheses of self-similarity and hydrostatic equilibrium. We show therefore the huge potentiality of combining catalogs from different experiments, in improving the cosmological analysis and the treatment of different astrophysical and systematic uncertainties.

AGN number fraction in galaxy groups and clusters atz< 1.4 from the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam survey

AbstractOne of the key questions on active galactic nuclei (AGN) in galaxy clusters is how AGN could affect the formation and evolution of member galaxies and galaxy clusters in the history of the Universe. To address this issue, we investigate the dependence of AGN number fraction (fAGN) on cluster redshift (zcl) and distance from the cluster center (R$/$R200). We focus on more than 27000 galaxy groups and clusters at 0.1 < zcl < 1.4 with more than 1 million member galaxies selected from the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam. By combining various AGN selection methods based on infrared (IR), radio, and X-ray data, we identify 2688 AGN. We find that (i) fAGN increases with zcl and (ii) fAGN decreases with R$/$R200. The main contributors to the rapid increase of fAGN towards high-z and cluster center are IR- and radio-selected AGN, respectively. These results indicate that the emergence of the AGN population depends on the environment and redshift, and galaxy groups and clusters at high z play an important role in AGN evolution. We also find that cluster–cluster mergers may not drive AGN activity in at least the cluster center, while we have tentative evidence that cluster–cluster mergers could enhance AGN activity in the outskirts of (particularly massive) galaxy clusters.

Star formation and chemical enrichment in protoclusters

ABSTRACT We examine star formation and chemical enrichment in protoclusters (PCs) using cosmological zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations. We find that the total star formation rate (SFR) in all PC ($\gt 10^{14.4}\, h^{-1}$ M⊙) reaches $\gt 10^4\, \mathrm{M}_\odot \mathrm{yr}^{-1}$ at z = 3, equivalent to the observed PCs. The SFR in the Core region accounts for about 30 per cent of the total star formation in the PC at z ≳ 1, suggesting the importance of the outer regions to reveal the evolution of galaxy clusters. We find that the total SFR of PC is dominated by galaxies with stellar masses $10^{10}\, \le \, (\mathrm{M}_\star /{{\rm M}_{\odot }})\, \le \, 10^{11}$, while more massive galaxies dominate the SFR in the Core. For the chemical abundance evolution, we find that the higher-density region has a higher metallicity and faster evolution. We show that the [O/Fe] versus [Fe/H] relation turns down in the Core at z = 3.4 due to the enrichment of Fe by Type Ia supernovae. We find no environmental effects for the mass–metallicity relations (MZR) or log (N/O) versus 12 + log (O/H) for galaxies. We find that the chemical enrichment in galaxy clusters proceeds faster in the high-redshift universe (z > 1). Our work will benefit future tomographic observations, particularly using PCs as unique probes of accelerated structure formation and evolution in high-density regions of the universe.

A Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Ionised Gas Emission (VESTIGE)

We use a complete set of deep narrow-band imaging data for 384 galaxies gathered during the Virgo Environmental Survey Tracing Ionised Gas Emission (VESTIGE) to derive the first Hα luminosity function of the Virgo cluster within its virial radius. The data, which are sensitive to the emission of a single O-early B ionising star, allow us to cover the whole dynamic range of the Hα luminosity function (1036 ≤ L(Hα)≤1042 erg s−1). After they are corrected for [NII] contamination and dust attenuation, the data are used to derive the star formation rate function in the range 10−4 ≲ SFR ≲ 10 M⊙ yr−1. These luminosity functions are derived for gas-rich and gas-poor systems and for objects belonging to the different substructures of the Virgo cluster. They are then compared to those derived at other frequencies or using different tracers of star formation in Virgo, in other nearby and high-z clusters, in the field, and finally to those predicted by the IllustrisTNG cosmological hydrodynamical simulations (TNG50 and TNG100). The Hα luminosity function of the Virgo cluster is fairly flat (α = −1.07 when fitted with a Schechter function) in the range 1038.5 ≲ L(Hα)≲1040.5 erg s−1, and it abruptly decreases at lower luminosities. When compared to those derived for other nearby clusters and for the field, the slope and the characteristic luminosity of the Schechter function change as a function of the dynamical mass of the system, of the temperature of the X-rays gas, and of the dynamical pressure exerted on the interstellar medium of galaxies moving at high velocity within the intracluster medium. All these trends can be explained in a scenario in which the activity of star formation of galaxies is reduced in massive clusters due to their hydrodynamical interaction with the surrounding medium, suggesting once again that ram-pressure stripping is the dominant mechanism affecting galaxy evolution in local clusters of dynamical mass Mcluster ≳ 1014 M⊙. The comparison with the IllustrisTNG cosmological hydrodynamical simulations shows a more pronounced decrease at the faint end of the distribution. If the Virgo cluster is representative of typical nearby clusters of similar mass, this difference suggests that the stripping process in simulated galaxies in these environments is more efficient than observed.

Evolution of matter and galaxy clustering in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations

ABSTRACT We quantify the evolution of matter and galaxy clustering in cosmological hydrodynamical simulations via correlation and bias functions of matter and galaxies. We use simulations TNG100 and TNG300 with epochs from z = 5 to z = 0. We calculate spatial correlation functions (CFs) of galaxies, ξ(r), for simulated galaxies and dark matter (DM) particles to characterize the evolving cosmic web. We find that bias parameters decrease during the evolution, confirming earlier results. Bias parameters of the lowest luminosity galaxies, b0, estimated from CFs are lower relative to CFs of particle density-limited clustered samples of DM. At low and medium luminosities, bias parameters of galaxies are equal, suggesting that dwarf galaxies reside in the same filamentary web as brighter galaxies. We find that bias parameters b0, estimated from CFs of clustered DM, agree with the expected values from the fraction of particles in the clustered population, b = 1/Fc. The cosmic web contains filamentary structures of various densities, and fractions of matter in the clustered and the unclustered populations are both less than unity. Thus, the CF amplitude of the clustered matter is always higher than that for all matter, i.e. bias parameter must be b > 1. Differences between CFs of galaxies and clustered DM suggest that these functions describe different properties of the cosmic web.

Tracing the kinematics of the whole ram-pressure-stripped tails in ESO 137-001

ABSTRACT Ram pressure stripping (RPS) is an important process to affect the evolution of cluster galaxies and their surrounding environment. We present a large MUSE mosaic for ESO 137-001 and its stripped tails, and study the detailed distributions and kinematics of the ionized gas and stars. The warm, ionized gas is detected to at least 87 kpc from the galaxy and splits into three tails. There is a clear velocity gradient roughly perpendicular to the stripping direction, which decreases along the tails and disappears beyond ∼45 kpc downstream. The velocity dispersion of the ionized gas increases to ∼80 km s−1 at ∼20 kpc downstream and stays flat beyond. The stars in the galaxy disc present a regular rotation motion, while the ionized gas is already disturbed by the ram pressure. Based on the observed velocity gradient, we construct the velocity model for the residual galactic rotation in the tails and discuss the origin and implication of its fading with distance. By comparing with theoretical studies, we interpreted the increased velocity dispersion as the result of the oscillations induced by the gas flows in the galaxy wake, which may imply an enhanced degree of turbulence there. We also compare the kinematic properties of the ionized gas and molecular gas from ALMA, which shows they are co-moving and kinematically mixed through the tails. Our study demonstrates the great potential of spatially resolved spectroscopy in probing the detailed kinematic properties of the stripped gas, which can provide important information for future simulations of RPS.

The galaxy mass-size relation in CARLA clusters and proto-clusters at 1.4 < z < 2.8: Larger cluster galaxy sizes

We study the galaxy mass-size relation in 15 spectroscopically confirmed clusters at 1.4 < z < 2.8 from the CARLA survey. Our clusters span a total stellar mass in the range 11.3 < log(M*c/M⊙) < 12.6 (with an approximate halo mass in the range 13.5 ≲ log(Mhc/M⊙) ≲ 14.5). Our main finding is that cluster passive early-type galaxies (ETGs) at z ≳ 1.5 with a mass log(M/M⊙) > 10.5 are systematically ≳0.2 − 0.3dex larger (≳3σ) than field ETGs at a similar redshift and mass from the CANDELS survey. The passive ETG average size evolution with redshift is slower at 1 < z < 2 when compared to the field. This could be explained by early-epoch differences in the formation and early evolution of galaxies in haloes of a different mass, as predicted by models. It does not exclude that other physical mechanisms, such as strong compaction and gas dissipation in field galaxies, followed by a sequence of mergers may have also played a significant role in the field ETG evolution, but not necessarily in the evolution of cluster galaxies. Our passive ETG mass-size relation shows a tendency to flatten at 9.6 < log(M/M⊙) < 10.5, where the average size is log(Re/kpc) = 0.05 ± 0.22, which is broadly consistent with galaxy sizes in the field and in the local Universe. This implies that galaxies in the low end of the mass-size relation do not evolve much from z ∼ 2 to the present, and that their sizes evolve in a similar way in clusters and in the field. Brightest cluster galaxies lie on the same mass-size relation as satellites, suggesting that their size evolution is not different from satellites at redshift z ≳ 2. Half of the active early-type galaxies, which are 30% of our ETG sample, follow the field passive galaxy mass-size relation, and the other half follow the field active galaxy mass-size relation. These galaxies likely went through a recent merger or neighbor galaxy interaction, and would most probably quench at a later epoch and increase the fraction of passive ETGs in clusters. We do not observe a large population of compact galaxies (only one), as is observed in the field at these redshifts, implying that the galaxies in our clusters are not observed in an epoch close to their compaction.

DS+: A method for the identification of cluster substructures

Context. The study of cluster substructures is important for the determination of the cluster dynamical status, assembly history, and the evolution of cluster galaxies, and it allows us to set constraints on the nature of dark matter and cosmological parameters. Aims. We present and test DS+, a new method for the identification and characterization of group-sized substructures in clusters. Methods. Our new method is based on the projected positions and line-of-sight (l.o.s. hereafter) velocities of cluster galaxies, and it is an improvement and extension of the traditional method of Dressler & Shectman (1988, AJ, 95, 985). We tested it on cluster-size cosmological halos extracted from the IllustrisTNG simulations, with virial masses 14 ≲ log(M200/M⊙) ≲ 14.6 that contain ~190 galaxies on average. We also present an application of our method on a real data set, the Bullet cluster. Results. DS+ is able to identify ~80% of real group galaxies as members of substructures, and at least 60% of the galaxies assigned to substructures belong to real groups. The physical properties of the real groups are significantly correlated with those of the corresponding detected substructures, but with significant scatter, and they are overestimated on average. Application of the DS+ method to the Bullet cluster confirms the presence and main properties of the high-speed collision and identifies other substructures along the main cluster axis. Conclusions. DS+ proves to be a reliable method for the identification of substructures in clusters. The method is made freely available to the community as a Python code.

I(cm)z, a semi-analytic model for the thermodynamic properties in galaxy clusters: Calibrations with mass and redshift, and implication for the hydrostatic bias

Context. In the self-similar scenario for galaxy cluster formation and evolution, the thermodynamic properties of the X-ray emitting plasma can be predicted in their dependencies on the halo mass and redshift only. However, several departures from this simple self-similar scenario have been observed. Aims. We show how our semi-analytic model i(cm)z, which modifies the self-similar predictions through two temperature-dependent quantities, the gas mass fraction fg = f0Tf1Ezfz and the temperature variation fT = t0Tt1Eztz, can be calibrated to incorporate the mass and redshift dependencies. Methods. We used a published set of 17 scaling relations to constrain the parameters of the model. We were subsequently able to make predictions as to the slope of any observed scaling relation within a few percent of the central value and about one σ of the nominal error. Contextually, the evolution of these scaling laws was also determined, with predictions within 1.5σ and within 10 percent of the observational constraints. Relying on this calibration, we have also evaluated the consistency of the predictions on the radial profiles with some observational datasets. For a sample of high-quality data (X-COP), we were able to constrain a further parameter of the model, the hydrostatic bias b. Results. By calibrating the model versus a large set of X-ray scaling laws, we have determined that (i) the slopes of the temperature dependence are f1 = 0.403 (±0.009) and t1 = 0.144 (±0.017); and that (ii) the dependence upon Ez are constrained to be fz = −0.004 (±0.023) and tz = 0.349 (±0.059). These values, which are inserted in the scaling laws that propagate the mass and redshift dependence to the integrated quantities, permit one to estimate directly how the normalizations of a given quantity QΔ changes as a function of the mass (or temperature) and redshift halo in the form QΔ ∼ MaMEzaz ∼ TaT EzaTz, which is in very good agreement with the current observational constraints. When applied to the best spatially resolved data, we obtained estimates of the hydrostatic bias b that are lower than, but still comparable with, the results obtained by other, more standard, means. We conclude that the calibrated semi-analytic model i(cm)z is able to make valuable predictions on the slope and redshift evolution of the X-ray scaling laws, and on the expected radial behavior of the thermodynamic quantities, including any possible hydrostatic bias.

Stochastic theory of gravitational relaxation and Lévy-fractional Klein-Kramers equation

This paper reports a stochastic theory of gravitational relaxation based on a Lévy-fractional Klein-Kramers equation with self-consistent entropy term. The use of fractional derivatives in this equation is motivated by nonequilibrium phase-space dynamics breaking the restrictive assumptions of Gaussianity, lack of correlation and nearness to virialized state. Astrophysical applications of the theory concern gravitational evolution of galaxy clusters with non-minimally coupled cold dark matter. One hard result pertaining to the statistical model is that position correlations between galaxies are attracted by the power law r −7/4, which approximates the canonical scaling r −1.8 found in observations. The kinetic description, considered in this paper's work, is compatible with an idea that the relaxation of galaxy clusters to virialized state could be collisionless and mediated by hypothetical “dark waves,” collective excitations of the coupled baryonic-dark matter system driven by the variation of local curvature on suitably small spatial scales.

Shattering and growth of cold clouds in galaxy clusters: the role of radiative cooling, magnetic fields, and thermal conduction

ABSTRACT In galaxy clusters, the hot intracluster medium (ICM) can develop a striking multiphase structure around the brightest cluster galaxy. Much work has been done on understanding the origin of this central nebula, but less work has studied its eventual fate after the originally filamentary structure is broken into individual cold clumps. In this paper, we perform a suite of 30 (magneto)hydrodynamical simulations of kpc-scale cold clouds with typical parameters as found by galaxy cluster simulations, to understand whether clouds are mixed back into the hot ICM or can persist. We investigate the effects of radiative cooling, small-scale heating, magnetic fields, and (anisotropic) thermal conduction on the long-term evolution of clouds. We find that filament fragments cool on time-scales shorter than the crushing time-scale, fall out of pressure equilibrium with the hot medium, and shatter, forming smaller clumplets. These act as nucleation sites for further condensation, and mixing via Kelvin–Helmholtz instability, causing cold gas mass to double within 75 Myr. Cloud growth depends on density, as well as on local heating processes, which determine whether clouds undergo ablation- or shattering-driven evolution. Magnetic fields slow down but do not prevent cloud growth, with the evolution of both cold and warm phase sensitive to the field topology. Counterintuitively, anisotropic thermal conduction increases the cold gas growth rate compared to non-conductive clouds, leading to larger amounts of warm phase as well. We conclude that dense clumps on scales of 500 pc or more cannot be ignored when studying the long-term cooling flow evolution of galaxy clusters.

Tracking Halo Orbits and Their Mass Evolution around Large-scale Filaments

We have explored the dynamical and mass evolution of halos driven by large-scale filaments using a dark-matter-only cosmological simulation with the help of a phase-space analysis. Since a nonnegligible number of galaxies are expected to fall into the cluster environment through large-scale filaments, tracking how halos move around large-scale filaments can provide a more comprehensive view on the evolution of cluster galaxies. Halos exhibit orbital motions around filaments, which emerge as specific trajectories in a phase space composed of halos’ perpendicular distance and velocity component with respect to filaments. These phase-space trajectories can be represented by three cases according to their current states. We parameterize the trajectories with halos’ initial position and velocity, maximum velocity, formation time, and time since first crossing, which are found to be correlated with each other. These correlations are explained well in the context of the large-scale structure formation. The mass evolution and dynamical properties of halos seem to be affected by the density of filaments, which can be shown from the fact that halos around denser filaments are more likely to lose their mass and be bound within large-scale filaments. Finally, we reproduce the mass segregation trend around filaments found in observations. The mass segregation has been developed because halos that formed earlier approached filaments earlier, grew efficiently, and ended up being more massive. We also found that dynamical friction helps to retain this segregation trend.

Environmental cluster effects and galaxy evolution: The H i properties of the Abell clusters A85/A496/A2670

ABSTRACT We study the impact of the local environment on the transformation of spiral galaxies in three nearby (z < 0.08) Abell clusters: A85/A496/A2670. These systems were observed in H i with the Very Large Array, covering a volume extending beyond the virial radius and detecting 10, 58, and 38 galaxies, respectively. High fractions (0.40–0.86) of bright spirals [log(M*/M⊙) = 9−10] are not detected in H i. We provide further evidence of environmental effects consisting in significant fractions (0.10–0.33) of abnormal objects and a number of red (passive) spirals, suggesting an ongoing process of quenching. Ram-pressure profiles and the sample of the brightest spirals used as test particles for environmental effects indicate that ram-pressure plays an important role in stripping and transforming late-types. Phase-space diagrams and our search for substructures helped to trace the dynamical stage of the three systems. This was used to compare the global cluster effects versus pre-processing, finding that the former is the dominating mechanism in the studied clusters. By contrasting the global distribution of H i normal versus H i disturbed spirals in the combined three clusters, we confirm the expected correlation of disturbed objects located, on average, at shorter projected radii. However, individual clusters do not necessarily follow this trend, and we show that A496 and A2670 present atypical behaviour. In general, we provide conclusive evidence about the dependence of the transformation of infalling spirals on the ensemble of cluster properties like mass, ICM density, dynamical stage, and surrounding large-scale structure.

The alignment between brightest cluster galaxies and host clusters

ABSTRACT The alignment between the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and host clusters can reveal the mystery of the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters. We measure cluster orientations in optical based on the projected distribution of member galaxies and in X-ray by fitting the morphology of intracluster medium (ICM). Cluster orientations determined in the two wavelengths are generally consistent. The orientation alignment between BCGs and host clusters is confirmed and more significant than in previous works. We find that BCGs are more aligned with cluster orientations measured in X-ray than those from optical data. Clusters with a brighter BCG generally show a stronger alignment. We argue that the detected redshift evolution of the alignment is probably caused by observational bias rather than intrinsic evolution. The alignment is not related to the ellipticity of BCGs, and the richness, ellipticity, and dynamical state of host clusters. The strong alignment between BCGs and the morphology of ICMs may be the consequence of the co-evolution between the central massive galaxy and host clusters.