Luminosity Segregation Research Articles

The seven sisters DANCe

Context. Membership analyses of the DANCe and Tycho + DANCe data sets provide the largest and least contaminated sample of Pleiades candidate members to date. Aims. We aim at reassessing the different proposals for the number surface density of the Pleiades in the light of the new and most complete list of candidate members, and inferring the parameters of the most adequate model. Methods. We compute the Bayesian evidence and Bayes Factors for variations of the classical radial models. These include elliptical symmetry, and luminosity segregation. As a by-product of the model comparison, we obtain posterior distributions for each set of model parameters. Results. We find that the model comparison results depend on the spatial extent of the region used for the analysis. For a circle of 11.5 parsecs around the cluster centre (the most homogeneous and complete region), we find no compelling reason to abandon King’s model, although the Generalised King model introduced here has slightly better fitting properties. Furthermore, we find strong evidence against radially symmetric models when compared to the elliptic extensions. Finally, we find that including mass segregation in the form of luminosity segregation in the J band is strongly supported in all our models. Conclusions. We have put the question of the projected spatial distribution of the Pleiades cluster on a solid probabilistic framework, and inferred its properties using the most exhaustive and least contaminated list of Pleiades candidate members available to date. Our results suggest however that this sample may still lack about 20% of the expected number of cluster members. Therefore, this study should be revised when the completeness and homogeneity of the data can be extended beyond the 11.5 parsecs limit. Such a study will allow for more precise determination of the Pleiades spatial distribution, its tidal radius, ellipticity, number of objects and total mass.

Velocity segregation effects in galaxy clusters at 0.4 ≲z≲ 1.5

Our study is meant to extend our knowledge of the galaxy color and luminosity segregation in velocity space (VCS and VLS, resp.), to clusters at intermediate and high redshift. Our sample is a collection of 41 clusters in the 0.4<~z<~1.5 redshift range, for a total of 4172 galaxies, 1674 member galaxies within 2R200 with photometric or spectroscopic information, as taken from the literature. We pay attention to perform homogeneous procedures to select cluster members, compute global cluster properties, in particular the LOS velocity dispersion sigmaV, and separate blue from red galaxies. We find evidence of VCS in clusters out to z~0.8 (at the 97%-99.99% c.l., depending on the test), in the sense that the blue galaxy population has a 10-20% larger sigmaV than the red galaxy population. Poor or no VCS is found in the High-z sample at z>=0.8. For the first time, we detect VLS in non-local clusters and confirm that VLS only affects the very luminous galaxies, with brighter galaxies having lower velocities. The threshold magnitude of VLS is ~m3+0.5, where m3 is the magnitude of the third brightest cluster galaxy, and current data suggest that the threshold value moves to fainter magnitudes at higher redshift. We also detect (marginal) evidence of VLS for blue galaxies. We conclude that the segregation effects, when their study is extended to distant clusters, can be important tracers of the galaxy evolution and cluster assembly and discuss the poor/no evidence of VCS at high redshift.

Fossil Systems; a Multi-wavelength Approach towards Understanding Galaxy Formation

Fossil systems are understood to be the end product of galaxy mergers within groups and clusters. Their halo morphology points to their relaxed/virialised nature, thus allowing them to be employed as observational probes for the evolution of cosmic structures, their thermodynamics and dark matter distribution. Cosmological simulations, and their underlying models, are broadly consistent with the early formation epoch for fossils. In a series of studies we have looked into galaxy properties and intergalactic medium (IGM) in fossils, across a wide range of wavelengths, from X-ray through optical to the radio, to have a better understanding of their nature, the attributed halo age, IGM heating and their AGNs and use them as laboratories to constrain galaxy formation models. Adhering to one of less attended properties of fossils, using the the Millennium Simulation, we combine luminosity gap with luminosity segregation (the brightest galaxy offset from the group luminosity centroid) to identify the most dynamically relaxed galaxy groups which allows us to reveal brand new observational connections between galaxies and their environments.

Luminosity function of galaxies in groups in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7: the dependence on mass, environment and galaxy type

We perform an analysis of the luminosities of galaxies in groups in the SDSS DR7. We analyse the luminosity function (LF) as a function of group mass for different photometric bands, galaxy populations, galaxy positions within the groups, and the group surrounding large scale density. We find that M* brightens and alpha becomes steeper as a function of mass in all SDSS photometric bands, in agreement with previous results. From the analysis of different galaxy populations, we observe that different methods to split galaxy populations, based on the concentration index or the colour-magnitude diagram, produce quite different behaviours in the luminosity trends, mainly for alpha. These discrepancies and the trends with mass mentioned above are explained when analysing the LF of galaxies classified simultaneously according to their concentrations and colours. We find that only the red spheroids have a LF that strongly depends on group mass. Late type galaxies, whether blue or red, have luminosity functions that do not depend on group mass. The intrinsic change in the LF of spheroids and the varying number contributions of the different types explain all the observed trends with group mass. On the other hand, dividing the galaxy members in the inner and outer regions of the groups do not introduce a significant difference in the Schechter parameter trends, except for the characteristic absolute magnitude in the high group virial mass range (M>1x10^13 M_sun/h) which is an indication of luminosity segregation in massive groups. Finally, we also analyse the possible influence of the large scale surrounding environment on the LF. We find that galaxies inhabiting groups at low density regions experience more pronounced variations on the Schechter parameters as a function of groups mass, while galaxies in groups at high density regions show an almost constant behaviour.

Merging history of three bimodal clusters

We present a combined X-ray and optical analysis of three bimodal galaxy clusters selected as merging candidates at z ~ 0.1. These targets are part of MUSIC (MUlti--Wavelength Sample of Interacting Clusters), which is a general project designed to study the physics of merging clusters by means of multi-wavelength observations. Observations include spectro-imaging with XMM-Newton EPIC camera, multi-object spectroscopy (260 new redshifts), and wide-field imaging at the ESO 3.6m and 2.2m telescopes. We build a global picture of these clusters using X-ray luminosity and temperature maps together with galaxy density and velocity distributions. Idealized numerical simulations were used to constrain the merging scenario for each system. We show that A2933 is very likely an equal-mass advanced pre-merger ~ 200 Myr before the core collapse, while A2440 and A2384 are post-merger systems ~ 450 Myr and ~1.5 Gyr after core collapse, respectively). In the case of A2384, we detect a spectacular filament of galaxies and gas spreading over more than 1 h^{-1} Mpc, which we infer to have been stripped during the previous collision. The analysis of the MUSIC sample allows us to outline some general properties of merging clusters: a strong luminosity segregation of galaxies in recent post-mergers; the existence of preferential axes --corresponding to the merging directions-- along which the BCGs and structures on various scales are aligned; the concomitance, in most major merger cases, of secondary merging or accretion events, with groups infalling onto the main cluster, and in some cases the evidence of previous merging episodes in one of the main components. These results are in good agreement with the hierarchical scenario of structure formation, in which clusters are expected to form by successive merging events, and matter is accreted along large--scale filaments.

THE FAINT END OF THE GALAXY LUMINOSITY FUNCTION IN A1689: A STEEP RED FAINT END UPTURN AT z = 0.18

We present a deep and wide $I$ luminosity function for galaxies in Abell 1689 ($z=0.183$) from a mosaic of HST WFPC2 images covering $10'$ on the side. The main result of this work is the detection of a steep upturn in the dwarf galaxy LF, with $\alpha \sim -2$. The dwarf to giant ratio appears to increase outwards, but this is because giant galaxies are missing in the cluster outskirts, indicating luminosity segregation. The red sequence LF has the same parameters, within errors, as the total LF, showing that the faint end upturn consists of red quiescent galaxies. We speculate that the upturn is connected to the `filling-in' of the red sequence at $z < 0.4$ and may represent the latest installment of `downsizing' as the least massive galaxies are being quenched at the present epoch.

Luminosity- and redshift-dependent quasar clustering

We present detailed clustering measurements for a flux-limited sample of ∼ 14 000 quasars extracted from the 2dF QSO Redshift Survey in the redshift range 0.8 1.3. On the other hand, a number of tests based on information theory and Bayesian statistics show only marginal evidence for luminosity-dependent clustering. Anyway, the quality of the data is not good enough to accurately quantify how quasar biasing depends on luminosity. We critically discuss the limitations of our data set and show that a much larger sample is needed to rule out current models for luminosity segregation. Studying the evolution of the clustering amplitude with redshift, we detect an increase of the quasar correlation length with lookback time at the 99.3 per cent confidence level. Adopting the concordance cosmological model, we discuss the evolution of quasar biasing with cosmic epoch and show that quasars are typically hosted by dark matter haloes with mass ∼10 13 M ⊙ .

Photometric Observations of Southern Abell Cluster Redshifts Survey Clusters: Structure of Galaxies in the Inner Region of Clusters of Galaxies

We analyze photometric properties of 1384 cluster galaxies as a function of the normalized distance to cluster center. These galaxies were selected in the central region ($r/r_{200} \leq$ 0.8) of 14 southern Abell clusters chosen from the Southern Abell Cluster Redshifts Survey (SARS). For 507 of these galaxies we also obtained their luminosity profiles. We have studied the morphology-clustercentric distance relation on the basis of the shape parameter $n$ of the S\'ersic's law. We also have analyzed the presence of a possible segregation in magnitude for both, the galaxy total luminosity and that of their components (i.e. the bulge and the disk). Results show a marginal ($2\sigma$ level) decrease of the total luminosity as a function of normalized radius. However, when bulges are analyzed separately, a significant luminosity segregation is found ($3\sigma$ and $2\sigma$ for galaxies in projection and member galaxies respectively). The fraction of bulges brighter than $M_B \leq -22$ is three times larger in the core of clusters than in the outer region. Our analysis of the disk component suggests that disks are, on average, less luminous in the cluster core than at $r/r_{200} \sim 0.8$. In addition, we found that the magnitude-size relation as a function of $r/r_{200}$ indicates (at $2\sigma$ level) that disks are smaller and centrally brighter in the core of clusters. However, the Kormendy relation (the bulge magnitude-size relation) appears to be independent of environment.

Shapley Optical Survey - I. Luminosity functions in the supercluster environment

We present the Shapley Optical Survey, a photometric study covering a 2 deg^2 region of the Shapley Supercluster core at z ~ 0.05 in two bands (B and R). The galaxy sample is complete to B=22.5 (>M^*+6, N_{gal}=16588), and R=22.0 (>M^*+7, N_{gal}=28008). The galaxy luminosity function cannot be described by a single Schechter function due to dips apparent at B ~ 17.5 (M_B ~ -19.3) and R ~ 17.0 (M_R ~ -19.8) and the clear upturn in the counts for galaxies fainter than B and R ~18 mag. We find, instead, that the sum of a Gaussian and a Schechter function, for bright and faint galaxies respectively, is a suitable representation of the data. We study the effects of the environment on the photometric properties of galaxies, deriving the galaxy luminosity functions in three regions selected according to the local galaxy density, and find a marked luminosity segregation, in the sense that the LF faint-end is different at more than 3sigma confidence level in regions with different densities. In addition, the luminosity functions of red and blue galaxy populations show very different behaviours: while red sequence counts are very similar to those obtained for the global galaxy population, the blue galaxy luminosity functions are well described by a single Schechter function and do not vary with the density. Such large environmentally-dependent deviations from a single Schechter function are difficult to produce solely within galaxy merging or suffocation scenarios. Instead the data support the idea that mechanisms related to the cluster environment, such as galaxy harassment or ram-pressure stripping, shape the galaxy LFs by terminating star-formation and producing mass loss in galaxies at \~M^*+2, a magnitude range where blue late-type spirals used to dominate cluster populations, but are now absent.

Luminosity segregation in three clusters of galaxies (A119, A2443, A2218)

We use deep wide-field V-band imaging obtained with the Wide Field Camera at the prime focus of the Issac Newton Telescope to study the spatial and luminosity distribution of galaxies in three low redshift (0.04 < z < 0.2) clusters: Abell 119, Abell 2443 and Abell 2218. The absolute magnitude limits probed in these clusters are M V - 5 log h 0.7 = -13.3, -15.4 and -16.7 mag, respectively. The galaxy population, at all luminosities, along the line-of-sight to the clusters can be described by the linear combination of a King profile and a constant surface density of field galaxies. We find that, for these three clusters, the core radius is invariant with intrinsic luminosity of the cluster population to the above limits and thus there is no evidence for luminosity segregation in these clusters. The exception is the brightest galaxies in A2218 which exhibit a more compact spatial distribution. We find that the total projected luminosity distribution (within 1 h -1 0.7 Mpc of the cluster centre) can be well represented by a single Schechter function with moderately flat faint-end slopes: a = -1.22 +0.07 -0.06 (A119), a = -1.11 +0.10 -0.09 (A2443) and α = -1.14 +0.08 -0.07 (A2218). We perform a geometric deprojection of the cluster galaxy population and confirm that no 'statistically significant' evidence of a change in the shape of the luminosity distribution with cluster-centric radius exists. Again, the exception being A2218 which exhibits a core region with a flatter faint-end slope.

The low-luminosity galaxy population in the NGC 5044 Group

We present multicolour imaging for 33 dwarf and intermediate-luminosity galaxies in the field of the NGC 5044 Group, complemented with mid-resolution spectroscopy for a subsample of 13 objects. With these data, a revised membership and morphological classification is made for the galaxies in the sample. We were able to confirm all but one of the "definite members" included in the spectroscopic subsample, which were originally classified based on morphological criteria; however, an important fraction of background galaxies is probably present among "likely" and "possible" members. The presence of a nucleus could be detected in just five out of the nine galaxies originally classified as dE,N, thus confirming the intrisic difficulty of photographic-plate morphological classification for this kind of object. Our deep surface photometry provided clear evidences for disc structure in at least three galaxies previously catalogued as dE or dS0. Their transition-type properties are also evident from the colour-magnitude diagram, where they lie near the late-type galaxies locus, suggesting an evolutionary connection between a parent disc-galaxy population and at least part of present-day dEs. Six new dSph candidates were also found, most of them at small projected distances from NGC 5044, the central galaxy of the Group. The NGC 5044 Group appears clearly defined in redshift space, with a mean heliocentric radial velocity, <v_r>=2461 +/- 84 km/s (z=0.0082), and a moderate dispersion, \sigma_{v_r}=431 km/s. Our data show no luminosity segregation for early-type galaxies: both dwarf and bright E/S0 systems show very similar velocity distributions (\sigma_{v_r} ~ 290 km/s), in contrast to late-type galaxies that seem to display a broader distribution (\sigma_{v_r} ~ 680 km/s).

Two-body relaxation in modified Newtonian dynamics

A naive extension to modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) of the standard computation of the two-body relaxation time t 2b implies that t 2b is comparable to the crossing time regardless of the number N of stars in the system. This computation is questionable in view of the non-linearity of MOND's field equation. A non-standard approach to the calculation of t 2b is developed that can be extended to MOND whenever discreteness noise generates force fluctuations that are small compared to the mean-field force. It is shown that this approach yields standard Newtonian results for systems in which the mean density profile is either plane-parallel or spherical. In the plane-parallel case, we find that in the deep-MOND regime t 2b scales with N as in the Newtonian case, but is shorter by the square of the factor by which MOND enhances the gravitational force over its Newtonian value for the same system. Near the centre of a spherical system that is in the deep-MOND regime, we show that the fluctuating component of the gravitational force is never small compared to the mean-field force; this conclusion surprisingly even applies to systems with a density cusp that keeps the mean-field force constant to arbitrarily small radius, and suggests that a cuspy centre can never be in the deep-MOND regime. Application of these results to dwarf galaxies and groups and clusters of galaxies reveals that in MOND luminosity segregation should be far advanced in groups and clusters of galaxies, two-body relaxation should have substantially modified the density profiles of galaxy groups, while objects with masses in excess of ∼10 M ○. should have spiralled to the centres of dwarf galaxies.

The galaxy population of the z= 1 cluster of galaxies MG2016+112

A photometric redshift analysis of galaxies in the field of the wide-separation gravitational lens MG2016+112 reveals a population of 69 galaxies with photometric redshifts consistent with being in a cluster at the redshift of the giant elliptical lensing galaxy, z=1.00. The Ks-band luminosity function of the cluster galaxies is well represented by the Schechter function with a characteristic magnitude Ks*=18.90 (-0.57/+0.45) and faint-end slope alpha=-0.60 (-0.33/+0.39), consistent with what is expected for a passively evolving population of galaxies formed at high redshift, zf>2. From the total Ks-band flux of the cluster galaxies and a dynamical estimate of the total mass of the cluster, the restframe Ks-band mass-to-light ratio of the cluster is derived to be M/L=27(-17/+64)(h_50)(M/L)_{sun}, in agreement with the upper limit derived earlier from Chandra X-ray observations and the value derived locally in the Coma cluster. The cluster galaxies span a red sequence with a considerable scatter in the colour-magnitude diagrams, suggesting that they contain young stellar populations in addition to the old populations of main-sequence stars that dominate the Ks-band luminosity function. This is in agreement with spectroscopic observations which show that 5 out of the 6 galaxies in the field confirmed to be at the redshift of the lensing galaxy have emission lines. The projected spatial distribution of the cluster galaxies is filamentary-like rather than centrally concentrated around the lensing galaxy, and show no apparent luminosity segregation. A handful of the cluster galaxies show evidence of merging/interaction. The results presented in this paper suggest that a young cluster of galaxies is assembling around MG2016+112.

Optical luminosity functions of the Abell galaxy cluster ABCG 209 at z = 0.21

We derive the luminosity functions in three bands (BVR) for the rich galaxy cluster ABCG 209 at . The data cover an area of ~78 arcmin2 in the B and R bands, while a mosaic of three pointings was obtained in the V band, covering an area of approximately 160 arcmin2. The galaxy sample is complete to (), () and (). Although the fit of a single Schechter function cannot be rejected in any band, the luminosity functions are better described by a sum of two Schechter functions for bright and faint galaxies, respectively. There is an indication for a presence of a dip in the luminosity functions in the range and . We find a marked luminosity segregation, in the sense that the number ratio of bright–to–faint galaxies decreases by a factor 4 from the center to outer regions. Our analysis supports the idea that ABCG 209 is an evolved cluster, resulting from the merger of two or more sub–clusters.

Morphology and luminosity segregation of galaxies in nearby loose groups

We study morphology and luminosity segregation of galaxies in loose groups. We analyze the two catalogs of groups identified in the Nearby Optical Galaxy (NOG) sample, by means of hierarchical and percolation “friends-of-friends” methods (HG and PG catalogs, respectively). In the first part of our analysis we consider 387 and 436 groups of HG and PG and compare morphology- (luminosity-) weighted to unweighted group properties: velocity dispersion, mean pairwise distance, and mean groupcentric distance of member galaxies. The second part of our analysis is based on two ensemble systems, one for each catalog, built by suitably combining together galaxies of all groups (1584 and 1882 galaxies for HG and PG groups). We find that earlier-type (brighter) galaxies are more clustered and lie closer to the group centers, both in position and in velocity, than later-type (fainter) galaxies. Spatial segregations are stronger than kinematical segregations. These effects are generally detected at the $\mathrel{\hbox{\rlap{\hbox{\lower4pt\hbox{~}}}\hbox{$>$}}}$3-sigma level. Luminosity segregation is shown to be independent of morphology segregation. Our main conclusions are strengthened by the detection of segregation in both hierarchical and percolation catalogs. Our results agree with a continuum of segregation properties of galaxies in systems, from low-mass groups to massive clusters.

Morphology and Luminosity Segregations in Galaxy Groups

We study morphology and luminosity segregation of galaxies in groups. We analyze the two catalogs of (∼2×400) groups which have been identified in the Nearby Optical Galaxy sample, by means of hierarchical and percolation `friends-of-friends' methods. We find that earlier-type (brighter) galaxies are more clustered and lie closer to the group centers, both in position and in velocity, than later-type (fainter) galaxies. Spatial segregations are stronger than kinematical segregations. These effects are generally detected at the ≳3-sigma level, with the exception of morphological segregation in velocity, which is the weakest effect. Our main results are confirmed by the analysis of statistically more reliable groups (with at least five members), and are strengthened by the detection of segregation in both hierarchical and percolation catalogs. Luminosity segregation is shown to be independent of morphology segregation. Our conclusions agree with a continuum of segregation properties of galaxies in systems, from low-mass groups to massive clusters.

UBV(RI)C photometry of Hipparcos red stars

We present homogeneous and standardized UBV(RI) C photometry for nearly 550 M stars selected from the Hipparcos satellite data base using the following selection criteria: lack of obvious variability (no Hipparcos variability flag); δ 1.7; and V magnitude fainter than about 7.6. Comparisons are made between the current photometry, other ground-based data sets and Hipparcos photometry. We use linear discriminant analysis to determine a luminosity segregation criterion for late-type stars, and principal component analysis to study the statistical structure of the colour indices and to calibrate absolute magnitude in terms of (V - I) for the dwarf stars. Various methods are used to determine the mean absolute magnitude of the giant stars. We find 10 dwarf stars, apparently previously unrecognized (prior to Hipparcos) as being within 25 pc, including five within 20 pc.

The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: the amplitudes of fluctuations in the 2dFGRS and the CMB, and implications for galaxy biasing

We compare the amplitudes of fluctuations probed by the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey and by the latest measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies. By combining the 2dFGRS and CMB data we find the linear-theory rms mass fluctuations in 8 Mpc/h spheres to be sigma_8 = 0.73 +-0.05 (after marginalization over the matter density parameter Omega_m and three other free parameters). This normalization is lower than the COBE normalization and previous estimates from cluster abundance, but it is in agreement with some revised cluster abundance determinations. We also estimate the scale-independent bias parameter of present-epoch L_s = 1.9L_* APM-selected galaxies to be b(L_s,z=0) = 1.10 +- 0.08 on comoving scales of 0.02 < k < 0.15 h/Mpc. If luminosity segregation operates on these scales, L_* galaxies would be almost un-biased, b(L_*,z=0) = 0.96. These results are derived by assuming a flat Lambda-CDM Universe, and by marginalizing over other free parameters and fixing the spectral index n=1 and the optical depth due to reionization tau=0. We also study the best fit pair (Omega_m,b), and the robustness of the results to varying n and tau. Various modelling corrections can each change the resulting b by 5-15 per cent. The results are compared with other independent measurements from the 2dFGRS itself, and from the SDSS, cluster abundance and cosmic shear.

$\vec{K}$–band luminosity (mass) segregation in AC 118 at $\vec {z}$ = 0.31

Using new observations of the galaxy cluster A118 at intermediate redshift (z=0.31) in the Ks band, we were able to detect the cluster from the center to half the Abell radius (1.5 Mpc, Ho=50 km/s/Mpc) and possibly to 2.0 Mpc. The analysis of both the spatial distribution of galaxies of various luminosities and of the luminosity function (LF) of galaxies in different cluster locations strongly confirms and extends to larger clustercentric radii the luminosity segregation found in a previous analysis of this cluster restricted to a smaller cluster area: there is an excess of bright galaxies in the cluster core (inside 250 Kpc) or a deficit of dwarfs in the remain part of the cluster. Outside the cluster core and as far as 1.5 or even 2 Mpc, the giant-to-dwarf ratio is constant. Because of the luminosity segregation, the LF of the AC118 shows a larger number of bright galaxies per unit dwarf in the core than in other cluster locations. All non-core LFs, computed at several cluster locations, are compatible each other. These results hold both including or excluding the galaxies located in an overdensity found in the far South of AC118 and in the second clump in galaxy density at the cluster North-West. Since the near-infrared emission is a good tracer of the stellar mass, we interpret the segregation found as a mass segregation.

Kinematics of AWM and MKW Poor Clusters

We have measured 1365 redshifts to a limiting magnitude of R ~ 15.5 in 15 AWM/MKW clusters and have collected another 203 from the literature in MKW 4s, MKW 2, and MKW 2s. In AWM 7 we have extended the redshift sample to R ~ 18 in the cluster center. We have identified 704 cluster members in 17 clusters; 201 are newly identified. We summarize the kinematics and distributions of the cluster galaxies and provide an initial discussion of substructure, mass and luminosity segregation, spectral segregation, velocity-dispersion profiles, and the relation of the central galaxy to global cluster properties. We compute optical mass estimates, which we compare with X-ray mass determinations from the literature. The clusters are in a variety of dynamical states, reflected in the three classes of behavior of the velocity-dispersion profile in the core: rising, falling, or flat/ambiguous. The velocity dispersion of the emission-line galaxy population significantly exceeds that of the absorption-line galaxies in almost all of the clusters, and the presence of emission-line galaxies at small projected radii suggests continuing infall of galaxies onto the clusters. The presence of a cD galaxy does not constrain the global cluster properties; these clusters are similar to other poor clusters that contain no cD. We use the similarity of the velocity-dispersion profiles at small radii and the cD-like galaxies' internal velocity dispersions to argue that cD formation is a local phenomenon. Our sample establishes an empirical observational baseline of poor clusters for comparison with simulations of similar systems.