Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in Clusters and Groups
Abstract
We present the results from multiple surveys for intracluster planetary nebulae (IPNe) in nearby galaxy clusters and groups. We find that in the case of clusters, our observations imply: 1) the amount of intracluster starlight is significant, up to 20% of the total starlight, 2) the Virgo Cluster is elongated along our line of sight, and 3) the intracluster light is clustered on the sky, implying ongoing tidal stripping. In contrast, searches for IPNe in groups have found little or no intra-group population, implying there may be something in the cluster environment that significantly enhances intracluster star production. From high-resolution N-body simulations, we find that the IPNe should create observable features in position-velocity space, and that these features may eventually allow us to place limits on the dynamics of galaxy clusters.
Cite
@article{arxiv.astro-ph/0310884,
title = {Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in Clusters and Groups},
author = {John J. Feldmeier and Robin B. Ciardullo and George H. Jacoby and Patrick R. Durrell and J. Christopher Mihos},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:astro-ph/0310884},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
6 pages, 2 figures, Oral presentation to IAU Symposium 217, "Recycling Intergalactic and Interstellar Matter", Sydney, July 14-17, 2003 Pierre-Alain Duc, Jonathan Braine and Elias Brinks, eds. Grammar changed slightly from original version. Paper can also be found at http://burro.astr.cwru.edu/johnf/iauipn_proc.ps.gz