Related papers: Are dumbbell brightest cluster members signposts t…
We investigate the relationship between brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and their host clusters using a sample of nearby galaxy clusters from the Representative XMM Cluster Structure Survey (REXCESS). The sample was imaged with the…
The evolution of galaxies is driven strongly by dynamical processes including internal instabilities, tidal interactions and mergers. The cluster environment is a useful laboratory for studying these effects. I present recent results on…
Hierarchical assembly within clusters of galaxies is tied directly to the evolution of the Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs), which dominate the stellar light in the centres of rich clusters. In this paper we investigate the number of…
We have performed a series of N-body experiments on Connection Machine-5 in order to simulate the formation of galaxy clusters gravitationally dominated by a massive dark background. In accordance with previous authors we find an extremely…
Formation theories for central dominant galaxies in clusters require them to be located at the minimum of the cluster gravitational potential. However, 32\% (8 out of 25) of the clusters with more than 50 measured redshifts have central…
Diffuse intracluster light (ICL) has now been observed in nearby and in intermediate redshift clusters. Individual intracluster stars have been detected in the Virgo and Coma clusters and the first color-magnitude diagram and velocity…
We describe the results of observations of galaxy clusters conducted with ISOCAM on-board the Infrared Space Observatory. Our research is aimed at understanding the processes driving galaxy evolution in dense environments, free from the…
Models of Cold Dark Matter predict that the distribution of dark matter in galaxy clusters should be cuspy, centrally concentrated. Constant density cores would be strong evidence for beyond-CDM physics, such as Self-Interacting Dark Matter…
Hubble Space Telescope ultraviolet (UV) images of nine starburst galaxies reveal them to be highly irregular, even after excluding compact sources (clusters and resolved stars). Most (7/9) are found to have a similar intrinsic effective…
By virtue of their high galaxy space densities and their large spatial separations, clusters are efficient and accurate tracers of the large-scale density and velocity fields. Substantial progress has been made over the past decade in the…
The X-ray cluster C0337-2522 at redshift $z=0.59$ hosts in its core a group of five elliptical galaxies. Using N-body simulations we show that a multiple merging event among the five galaxies is expected to take place in the next few Gyrs,…
Understanding the formation history of brightest cluster galaxies is an important topic in galaxy formation. Utilizing the Planck Sunyaev-Zel'dovich cluster catalog, and applying the Ansatz that the most massive halos at one redshift remain…
We examine the stellar mass assembly in galaxy cluster cores using data from the Cluster Lensing and Supernova survey with Hubble (CLASH). We measure the growth of brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) stellar mass, the fraction of the total…
We have obtained a new high-resolution K'-band image of the central region of the rich X-ray cluster RX J0848.9+4452 at z=1.26. We found that the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG) in the cluster is clearly separated into two distinct objects.…
We used the HST WFPC2 to obtain I-band images of the centers of 81 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs), drawn from a volume-limited sample of nearby BCGs. The images show a rich variety of morphological features, including multiple or double…
Recent work suggests that rich clusters of galaxies commonly have large populations of dwarf (i.e. low luminosity) members, that is their luminosity function (LF) turns up to a steep slope at the faint end. This population, or more…
We predict the amplitude of the gravitational redshift of galaxies in galaxy clusters using an N-body simulation of a Lambda CDM universe. We examine if it might be possible to detect the gravitational effect on the total redshift observed…
We present the K-band Hubble diagram for 162 brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in X-ray selected clusters, 0.01<z<0.83. The sample incorporates that of Burke, Collins, & Mann (2000) and includes additional infrared data from the 2MASS…
I review recent measurements of the faint end of the galaxy luminosity function in galaxy clusters. Evidence is presented that the luminosity function of galaxies in the central parts of clusters is remarkably constant between clusters and…
Clusters of galaxies generally form by the gravitational merger of smaller clusters and groups. Major cluster mergers are the most energetic events in the Universe since the Big Bang. Some of the basic physical properties of mergers will be…