Document Mass Profiles and Shapes of Cosmological Structures
G.A. Mamon, F. Combes, C. Deffayet and B. Fort (eds)
EAS Publications Series, 20 (2006) 167-170
DOI: 10.1051/eas:2006065
Intracluster stars tracing motions in nearby clusters
M. ArnaboldiINAF, Osservatorio Astronomico di Torino, Strada Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino, Torinese
Abstract
Cosmological simulations of structure formation predict that galaxies
are dramatically modified by galaxy harassment during the assembly of
galaxy clusters, losing a substantial fraction of their stellar mass
which today must be in the form of intracluster stars. Simulations
predict non-uniform spatial and radial velocity distributions for
these stars. Intracluster planetary nebulae are the only abundant
component of the intracluster light whose kinematics can be measured
at this time. Comparing these velocity distributions with simulations
will provide a unique opportunity to investigate the hierarchical
cluster formation process as it takes place in the nearby universe.
© EAS, EDP Sciences 2006