Nearby Virgo Cluster Research Articles

ViCTORIA project: The LOFAR view of environmental effects in Virgo cluster star-forming galaxies

Context. Environmental effects such as ram pressure stripping (RPS) shape the evolution of galaxies in dense regions. Aims. We used the nearby Virgo cluster as a laboratory to study the environmental effects on the nonthermal components of star-forming galaxies. Methods. We constructed a sample of 17 RPS galaxies in the Virgo cluster and a statistical control sample of 119 nearby galaxies from the Herschel Reference Survey. All objects in these samples were detected in LOFAR 144 MHz observations and come with Hα and/or far-UV star formation rate (SFR) estimates. Results. We derived the radio–SFR relations, confirming a clearly super-linear slope of ≈1.4. We found that Virgo cluster RPS galaxies have radio luminosities that are a factor of 2−3 larger than galaxies in our control sample. We also investigated the total mass-spectral index relation, where we found a relation for the Virgo cluster RPS galaxies that is shifted to steeper spectral index values by 0.17 ± 0.06. Analyzing the spatially resolved ratio between the observed and the expected radio emission based on the hybrid near-UV + 100 μm SFR surface density, we generally observed excess radio emission all across the disk with the exception of a few leading-edge radio-deficient regions. Conclusions. The radio excess and the spectral steepening for the RPS sample could be explained by an increased magnetic field strength if the disk-wide radio enhancement is due to projection effects. For the galaxies that show the strongest radio excesses (NGC 4330, NGC 4396 and NGC 4522), a rapid decline in the SFR (tquench ≤ 100 Myr) could be an alternative explanation. We disfavor shock acceleration of electrons as a cause for the radio excess since it cannot easily explain the spectral steepening and radio morphology.

WHIM-hunting through cross-correlations between optical and SZ effect data in the Virgo cluster filaments

Context. The physical state of most of the baryonic matter in the local universe is unknown, commonly referred to as the “missing baryon problem”. It has been theorized that at least half of these missing baryons are in a warm-hot, low-density phase, outside of the virialized dark-matter halos. Aims. We attempted to find the signature of this warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) phase in the filaments of the nearby Virgo cluster by using optical and Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect data. Methods. Specifically, we used a filament-galaxy catalog created from the HyperLeda database and an all-sky Compton-y map extracted from the Planck satellite data for two-dimensional cross-correlation analysis by applying a spherical harmonics transform. The significance test is based on the null-test simulations, which exploits advanced cut-sky analysis tools for a proper map reconstruction. To place upper limits on the WHIM density in the Virgo filaments, realistic baryonic density modeling within the cosmic filaments was done based on state-of-the-art hydro-simulations, within the signal-boosting routine. Results. The cross-correlation signal is found to be too dim compared to the noise level in the Plancky-map. At a 3 σ confidence level, the upper limit on volume-average WHIM density turns out to be ⟨ ne ⟩< 4 × 10−4 cm−3, which is indeed consistent with the WHIM parameter space, as predicted from simulations.

Correcting for peculiar velocities of Type Ia supernovae in clusters of galaxies

Context. Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) are widely used to measure the expansion of the Universe. To perform such measurements the luminosity and cosmological redshift (z) of the SNe Ia have to be determined. The uncertainty on z includes an unknown peculiar velocity, which can be very large for SNe Ia in the virialized cores of massive clusters. Aims. We determine which SNe Ia exploded in galaxy clusters using 145 SNe Ia from the Nearby Supernova Factory. We then study how the correction for peculiar velocities of host galaxies inside the clusters improves the Hubble residuals. Methods. We found 11 candidates for membership in clusters. We applied the biweight technique to estimate the redshift of a cluster. Then, we used the galaxy cluster redshift instead of the host galaxy redshift to construct the Hubble diagram. Results. For SNe Ia inside galaxy clusters, the dispersion around the Hubble diagram when peculiar velocities are taken into account is smaller compared with a case without peculiar velocity correction, which has a wRMS = 0.130 ± 0.038 mag instead of wRMS = 0.137 ± 0.036 mag. The significance of this improvement is 3.58σ. If we remove the very nearby Virgo cluster member SN2006X (z < 0.01) from the analysis, the significance decreases to 1.34σ. The peculiar velocity correction is found to be highest for the SNe Ia hosted by blue spiral galaxies. Those SNe Ia have high local specific star formation rates and smaller stellar masses, which is seemingly counter to what might be expected given the heavy concentration of old, massive elliptical galaxies in clusters. Conclusions. As expected, the Hubble residuals of SNe Ia associated with massive galaxy clusters improve when the cluster redshift is taken as the cosmological redshift of the supernova. This fact has to be taken into account in future cosmological analyses in order to achieve higher accuracy for cosmological redshift measurements. We provide an approach to do so.

Abundance ratios in dwarf elliptical galaxies

We determine abundance ratios of 37 dwarf ellipticals (dEs) in the nearby Virgo cluster. This sample is representative of the early-type population of galaxies in the absolute magnitude range -19.0 < Mr < -16.0. We analyze their absorption line-strength indices by means of index-index diagrams and scaling relations and use the stellar population models to interpret them. We present ages, metallicities and abundance ratios obtained from these dEs within an aperture size of Re/8. We calculate [Na/Fe] from NaD, [Ca/Fe] from Ca4227 and [Mg/Fe] from Mgb. We find that [Na/Fe] is under-abundant with respect to solar while [Mg/Fe] is around solar. This is exactly opposite to what is found for giant ellipticals, but follows the trend with metallicity found previously for the Fornax dwarf NGC 1396. We discuss possible formation scenarios that can result in such elemental abundance patterns and we speculate that dEs have disk-like SFH favouring them to originate from late-type dwarfs or small spirals. Na-yields appear to be very metal-dependent, in agreement with studies of giant ellipticals, probably due to the large dependence on the neutron-excess in stars. We conclude that dEs have undergone a considerable amount of chemical evolution, they are therefore not uniformly old, but have extended SFH, similar to many of the Local Group galaxies.

UHECR narrow clustering correlating IceCube through-going muons

The recent UHECR events by AUGER and the Telescope Array (TA) suggested that wide clusterings as the North and South, named Hot Spot, are related to near AGNs such as the one in M82 and Cen A (as most authors and us convened). In the same frame since 2008 we assumed that the UHECR are made by light and lightest nuclei to explain the otherwise embarrassing absence of the huge nearby Virgo cluster, absence due to the fragility and the opacity of lightest nuclei by photo-dissociation from Virgo distances. Moreover UHECR map exhibits a few narrow clustering, some near the galactic plane, as toward SS 433 and on the opposite side of the plane at celestial horizons: we tagged them in 2014 suggesting possible near source active also as a UHE neutrino. Indeed since last year, 2015, highest IceCube trough-going muons, UHE up-going neutrino events at hundreds TeV energy, did show (by two cases over three tagged in North sky) the expected overlapping of UHE neutrinos signals with narrow crowding UHECR. New recent data with higher energy threshold somehow re-confirmed our preliminary proposal offering also new possible sources by a additional correlated UHE-neutrino versus UHE-neutrino and-or with narrow UHECR clustering events.

Abundance Ratios in Dwarf Elliptical Galaxies

AbstractThe aim of this study is to determine abundance ratios and star formation histories (SFH) of dwarf ellipticals in the nearby Virgo cluster. We perform a stellar population analysis of 39 dEs and study them using index-index and scaling relations. We find an unusual behaviour where [Na/Fe] is under-abundant w.r.t. solar while [Ca/Fe] is over-abundant.

THE MOST MASSIVE ULTRA-COMPACT DWARF GALAXY IN THE VIRGO CLUSTER

We report on the properties of the most massive ultra-compact dwarf galaxy (UCD) in the nearby Virgo Cluster of galaxies using imaging from the Next Generation Virgo Cluster Survey (NGVS) and spectroscopy from Keck/DEIMOS. This object (M59-UCD3) appears to be associated with the massive Virgo galaxy M59 (NGC 4621), has an integrated velocity dispersion of 78 km/s, a dynamical mass of $3.7\times10^8 M_\odot$, and an effective radius ($R_e$) of 25 pc. With an effective surface mass density of $9.4\times10^{10} M_\odot/kpc^2$, it is the densest galaxy in the local Universe discovered to date, surpassing the density of the luminous Virgo UCD, M60-UCD1. M59-UCD3 has a total luminosity of $M_{g'}=-14.2$ mag, and a spectral energy distribution consistent with an old (14 Gyr) stellar population with [Fe/H]=0.0 and [$\alpha$/Fe]=+0.2. We also examine deep imaging around M59 and find a broad low surface brightness stream pointing towards M59-UCD3, which may represent a tidal remnant of the UCD progenitor. This UCD, along with similar objects like M60-UCD1 and M59cO, likely represents an extreme population of tidally stripped galaxies more akin to larger and more massive compact early-type galaxies than to nuclear star clusters in present-day dwarf galaxies.

Intragroup and Intracluster Light

AbstractThe largest stellar halos in the universe are found in massive galaxy clusters, where interactions and mergers of galaxies, along with the cluster tidal field, all act to strip stars from their host galaxies and feed the diffuse intracluster light (ICL) and extended halos of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). Studies of the nearby Virgo Cluster reveal a variety of accretion signatures imprinted in the morphology and stellar populations of its ICL. While simulations suggest the ICL should grow with time, attempts to track this evolution across clusters spanning a range of mass and redshift have proved difficult due to a variety of observational and definitional issues. Meanwhile, studies of nearby galaxy groups reveal the earliest stages of ICL formation: the extremely diffuse tidal streams formed during interactions in the group environment.

WIDE-FIELD PRECISION KINEMATICS OF THE M87 GLOBULAR CLUSTER SYSTEM

We present the most extensive combined photometric and spectroscopic study to date of the enormous globular cluster (GC) system around M87, the central giant elliptical galaxy in the nearby Virgo cluster. Using observations from DEIMOS and LRIS at Keck, and Hectospec on the MMT, we derive new, precise radial velocities for 451 GCs around M87, with projected radii from ~ 5 to 185 kpc. We combine these measurements with literature data for a total sample of 737 objects, which we use for a re-examination of the kinematics of the GC system of M87. The velocities are analyzed in the context of archival wide-field photometry and a novel Hubble Space Telescope catalog of half-light radii, which includes sizes for 344 spectroscopically confirmed clusters. We use this unique catalog to identify 18 new candidate ultra-compact dwarfs, and to help clarify the relationship between these objects and true GCs. We find much lower values for the outer velocity dispersion and rotation of the GC system than in earlier papers, and also differ from previous work in seeing no evidence for a transition in the inner halo to a potential dominated by the Virgo cluster, nor for a truncation of the stellar halo. We find little kinematical evidence for an intergalactic GC population. Aided by the precision of the new velocity measurements, we see significant evidence for kinematical substructure over a wide range of radii, indicating that M87 is in active assembly. A simple, scale-free analysis finds less dark matter within ~85 kpc than in other recent work, reducing the tension between X-ray and optical results. In general, out to a projected radius of ~ 150 kpc, our data are consistent with the notion that M87 is not dynamically coupled to the Virgo cluster; the core of Virgo may be in the earliest stages of assembly.

Core-collapse supernova enrichment in the core of the Virgo cluster

Using a deep (574 ks) Chandra observation of M87, the dominant galaxy of the nearby Virgo Cluster, we present the best measurements to date of the radial distribution of metals in the central intracluster medium (ICM). Our measurements, made in 36 independent annuli with $\sim$250,000 counts each, extend out to a radius r$\sim$40 kpc and show that the abundance profiles of Fe, Si, S, Ar, Ca, Ne, Mg, and Ni are all centrally peaked. Interestingly, the abundance profiles of Si and S - which are measured robustly and to high precision - are even more centrally peaked than Fe, while the Si/S ratio is relatively flat. These measurements challenge the standard picture of chemical enrichment in galaxy clusters, wherein type Ia supernovae (SN Ia) from an evolved stellar population are thought to dominate the central enrichment. The observed abundance patterns are most likely due to one or more of the following processes: continuing enrichment by winds of a stellar population pre-enriched by SNCC products; intermittent formation of massive stars in the central cooling core; early enrichment of the low entropy gas. We also discuss other processes that might have contributed to the observed radial profiles, such as a stellar initial mass function that changes with radius; changes in the pre-enrichment of core-collapse supernova progenitors; and a diversity in the elemental yields of SN Ia. Although systematic uncertainties prevent us from measuring the O abundance robustly, indications are that it is about 2 times lower than predicted by the enrichment models.

A mature cluster with X-ray emission atz= 2.07

We report evidence of a fully established galaxy cluster at z=2.07, consisting of a ~20sigma overdensity of red, compact spheroidal galaxies spatially coinciding with extended X-ray emission detected with XMM-Newton. We use VLT VIMOS and FORS2 spectra and deep Subaru, VLT and Spitzer imaging to estimate the redshift of the structure from a prominent z=2.07 spectroscopic redshift spike of emission-line galaxies, concordant with the accurate 12-band photometric redshifts of the red galaxies. Using NICMOS and Keck AO observations, we find that the red galaxies have elliptical morphologies and compact cores. While they do not form a tight red sequence, their colours are consistent with that of a >1.3$~Gyr population observed at z~2.1. From an X-ray luminosity of .2*10^43 erg s^-1 and the stellar mass content of the red galaxy population, we estimate a halo mass of 5.3-8*10^13 Msun, comparable to the nearby Virgo cluster. These properties imply that this structure could be the most distant, mature cluster known to date and that X-ray luminous, elliptical-dominated clusters are already forming at substantially earlier epochs than previously known.

Metal transport by gas sloshing in M87

We present the results of an XMM-Newton mosaic covering the central ~200 kpc of the nearby Virgo cluster. We focus on a strong surface brightness discontinuity in the outskirts of the brightest cluster galaxy, M87. Using both XMM-Newton and Suzaku, we derive accurate temperature and metallicity profiles across this feature and show that it is a cold front probably due to sloshing of the Virgo ICM. It is also associated with a discontinuity in the chemical composition. The gas in the inner, bright region of the front is ~40% more abundant in Fe than the gas outside the front, suggesting the important role of sloshing in transporting metals through the ICM. For the first time, we provide a quantitative estimate of the mass of Fe transported by a cold front. This amounts to ~6% of the total Fe mass within the radial range affected by sloshing, significantly more than the amount of metals transported by the AGN in the same cluster core. The very low Fe abundance of only ~0.2 solar immediately outside the cold front at a radius of 90 kpc suggests we are witnessing first-hand the transport of higher metallicity gas into a pristine region, whose abundance is typical of the cluster outskirts. The Mg/Fe and O/Fe abundance ratios remain approximately constant over the entire radial range between the centre of M87 and the faint side of the cold front, which requires the presence of a centrally peaked distribution not only for Fe but also for core-collapse type supernova products. This peak may stem from the star formation triggered as the BCG assembled during the protocluster phase.

Intracluster light in the Virgo cluster: large scale distribution

The intracluster light (ICL) is a faint diffuse stellar component in clusters made of stars not bound to individual galaxies. We have carried out a large scale study of this component in the nearby Virgo cluster. The diffuse light is traced using planetary nebulae (PNe). The PNe are detected in the on-band image due to their strong emission in the [OIII] 5007 line, but disappear in the off-band image. The contribution of Ly-alpha emitters at z=3.14 are corrected statistically using blank field surveys. We have surveyed a total area of 3.3 square degrees in the Virgo cluster with eleven fields located at different radial distances. Those fields located at smaller radii than 80 arcmin from the cluster center contain most of the detected diffuse light. In this central region of the cluster, the ICL has a surface brightness in the range 28.8 - 30 mag per sqarsec in the B band, it is not uniformly distributed, and represents about 7% of the total galaxy light in this area. At distances larger than 80 arcmin the ICL is confined to single fields and individual sub-structures, e.g. in the Virgo sub-clump B, the M60/M59 group. For several fields at 2 and 3 degrees from the Virgo cluster center we set only upper limits. These results indicate that the ICL is not homogeneously distributed in the Virgo core, and it is concentrated in the high density regions of the Virgo cluster, e.g. the cluster core and other sub-structures. Outside these regions, the ICL is confined within areas of 100 kpc in size, where tidal effects may be at work. These observational results link the formation of the ICL with the formation history of the most luminous cluster galaxies.

VCC 2062: an old tidal dwarf galaxy in the Virgo cluster?

Context. Numerical simulations predict the existence of old Tidal Dwarf Galaxies (TDGs) that would have survived several Gyr after the collision lying at their origin. Such survivors, which would by now have become independent relaxed galaxies, would be ideal laboratories, if nearby enough, to tackle a number of topical issues, including the distribution of Dark Matter in and around galaxies. However nding old dwarf galaxies with a conrmed tidal origin is an observational challenge. Aims. A dwarf galaxy in the nearby Virgo Cluster, VCC 2062, exhibits several unusual properties that are typical of a galaxy made out of recycled material. We discuss whether it may indeed be a TDG. Methods. We analysed multi-wavelength observations of VCC 2062, including a CO map acquired with the IRAM 30m dish, an optical spectrum of its HII regions, GALEX ultraviolet and archival broad-band and narrow-band optical images as well as a VLA HI datacube, originally obtained as part of the VIVA project. Results. VCC 2062 appears to be the optical, low surface brightness counterpart of a kinematically detached, rotating condensation that formed within an HI tail apparently physically linked to the disturbed galaxy NGC 4694. In contrast to its faint optical luminosity, VCC 2062 is characterised by strong CO emission and a high oxygen abundance more typical of spiral disks. Its dynamical mass however, is that of a dwarf galaxy. Conclusions. VCC 2062 was most likely formed within a pre-enriched gaseous structure expelled from a larger galaxy as a result of a tidal interaction. The natural provider for the gaseous tail is NGC 4694 or rather a former companion which subsequently has been accreted by the massive galaxy. According to that scenario, VCC 2062 has been formed by a past tidal encounter. Since its parent galaxies have most probably already totally merged, it qualies as an old Tidal Dwarf Galaxy.

Where in the Virgo Cluster are Galaxies Stripped? Stellar Population Evolution of Stripped Spiral Galaxies in Virgo

The nearby Virgo Cluster provides an ideal laboratory to study galaxy-galaxy and galaxy-cluster interactions at a level of detail impossible at higher redshift. In Virgo, there exists a large population of spiral galaxies with mostly undisturbed stellar disks, but truncated gas disks. We present results of an observational study of several of these galaxies, utilizing optical and UV imaging, and optical spectroscopy. By combining optical spectroscopy and UV imaging, we are able to constrain the time since star formation ended in the outer disk and, therefore, constrain the time since the galaxies were stripped. Our results show that while most of the galaxies in our sample are consistent with being stripped near the cluster center, several show evidence for being stripped well outside the core, suggesting that the “reach” of the intracluster medium is greater than is suggested by simple ICM models.

The effects of thermal conduction on the intracluster medium of the Virgo cluster

Thermal conduction has been suggested as a possible mechanism by which sufficient energy is supplied to the central regions of galaxy clusters to balance the effect of radiative cooling. Recent high-resolution observations of the nearby Virgo cluster make it an ideal subject for an attempt to reproduce the properties of the cluster by numerical simulations, because most of the defining parameters are comparatively well known. Here, we present the results of a simulated high-resolution, 3D Virgo cluster for different values of thermal conductivity ( times the full Spitzer value). Starting from an initially isothermal cluster atmosphere, we allow the cluster to evolve freely over time-scales of roughly 1.3–4.7 × 109 yr. Our results show that thermal conductivity at the Spitzer value can increase the central intracluster medium (ICM) radiative cooling time by a factor of roughly 3.6. In addition, for larger values of thermal conductivity, the simulated temperature and density profiles match the observations significantly better than for the lower values. However, no physically meaningful value of thermal conductivity was able to postpone the cooling catastrophe (characterized by a rapid increase in the central density) for longer than a fraction of the Hubble time nor explain the absence of a strong cooling flow in the Virgo cluster today. We also calculate the effective adiabatic index of the cluster gas for both simulation and observational data and compare the values with theoretical expectations. Using this method, it appears that the Virgo cluster is being heated in the cluster centre by a mechanism other than thermal conductivity. Based on this and our simulations, it is also likely that the thermal conductivity is suppressed by a factor of at least 10 and probably more. Thus, we suggest that thermal conductivity, if present at all, has the effect of slowing down the evolution of the ICM, by radiative cooling, but only by a factor of a few.

The Remnants of Intergalactic Supernovae

Intergalactic Type Ia supernovae (SNe) have been discovered recently in rich galaxy clusters. These SNe are likely the descendants of an intergalactic stellar population, which has been discovered in recent years through a variety of tracers. We estimate the observational signatures of the associated SN remnants (SNRs) in the unusual intracluster medium (ICM) environment. We find that if Type Ia SNe still have a circumstellar medium (CSM) at the time of explosion, then their remnants are visible in the optical for ~102-103 yr, with properties similar to young galactic SNRs. In contrast with galactic SNRs, in which the ejecta from the explosion interacts with the interstellar medium (ISM), intracluster SNRs become undetectable in the optical band once their ejecta passes beyond the CSM and enters the hot and tenuous ICM. If Type Ia SNe have a CSM, there should be ~150 young SNRs in the nearby Virgo Cluster, with an Hα luminosity of ~1035 ergs s-1 and an angular size of ~01. We investigate the possibility that members of this SNR population may have recently been detected but incorrectly identified as intergalactic H II regions. Alternatively, if optical intergalactic SNRs do not exist in Virgo, this will constitute evidence that Type Ia SNe are devoid of a CSM, with implications for progenitor scenarios. Regardless of the presence of a CSM, about 10 older SNRs per square degree should be detectable in Virgo in the radio band, with fluxes of order 0.1 mJy at 1 GHz. Their angular sizes (~1''), morphologies, and lack of optical association with distant galaxies can distinguish them from the much more numerous background population. Their detection would provide an accurate measurement of the intracluster SN rate. Deep pointed observations toward the site of SN 1980I, a possibly intergalactic Type Ia event in Virgo, could test for the existence of a CSM by comparison to our predictions for the early-time development of intergalactic SNRs.

Intergalactic Globular Clusters

AbstractWe confirm and extend our previous detection of a population of intergalactic globular clusters in Abell 1185, and report the first discovery of an intergalactic globular cluster in the nearby Virgo cluster of galaxies. The numbers, colors and luminosities of these objects can place constraints on their origin, which in turn may yield new insights to the evolution of galaxies in dense environments.

Cold Dark Matter’s Small‐Scale Crisis Grows Up

The cold dark matter (CDM) theory predicts a wealth of substructure within dark halos. These predictions match observations of galaxy clusters like the nearby Virgo Cluster. However, CDM has a "small-scale crisis": galaxies dominate the halo with little substructure, even though the model predicts that galaxies should be scaled versions of galaxy clusters, with abundant substructure. Compared to CDM predictions, the Milky Way and Andromeda are "missing" objects with velocity dispersions of σ ≥ 10 km s-1. The energy scale of these missing satellites is low enough that stellar winds and supernovae might remove gas and suppress the formation of their luminous stellar components. Here we show that the small-scale crisis persists in fossil groups that have masses of up to 40% of the nearby Virgo Cluster of galaxies. Fossil groups are missing satellites with luminosities that occur at the predicted frequency in the Virgo Cluster. Moreover, the "missing galaxies" in fossil groups are nearly as luminous as the Milky Way, with a velocity dispersion of σ ≤ 150 km s-1.

Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Virgo Cluster. II. Imaging Catalog

Intracluster stars—stars outside of individual galaxies—are a sensitive measure of the poorly understood processes of galactic mergers, cluster accretion, and tidal stripping that occur in galaxy clusters. In particular, intracluster planetary nebulae are a useful probe of intracluster light as a whole. We present a catalog of 318 intracluster planetary nebula candidates in the nearby Virgo Cluster of galaxies, taken with the Kitt Peak National Observatory 4 m telescope. We detail the automated detection routines developed to search for these candidates and discuss the routines' strengths and weaknesses. We discuss the importance of contamination in the catalog, and the likely causes. We present magnitudes and positions of these candidates, suitable for spectroscopic follow-up observations. Analyses of these candidates are presented in other papers of this series.