Galaxy Evolution in the Cluster/Filament Environment

Mathematics – Logic

Scientific paper

Rate now

  [ 0.00 ] – not rated yet Voters 0   Comments 0

Details

Scientific paper

Recent studies have found that the outskirts of galaxy clusters, such as the filament networks which feed them, play a pivotal role in driving galaxy evolution well before galaxies reach the cluster environment. Several processes have been proposed that would transform galaxies in the low-density regime, some of which directly suppress star formation activity and others that would instead trigger a burst of star formation that consumes most of the galaxy's gas supply. We can directly test for this latter class of mechanisms by searching for a starbursting population of galaxies in and around clusters. Furthermore since many of the proposed processes are most effective at different galaxy and gas densities, the properties of the local environment in which starburst galaxies are found can help constrain the mechanisms which trigger them. We propose 3.6-8 micron IRAC and 24 micron MIPS observations of a well defined and highly studied large-scale filament feeding the massive cluster MACS J0717.5+3745 at z=0.55. The filament is a highly coherent, spectroscopically confirmed structure detected in our galaxy surface density maps, weak lensing analysis and X-ray observations. We have compiled an extensive multi-wavelength dataset to aid in this study, including an 18-pointing, high-resolution HST ACS mosaic of the field. The environment around MACS J0717.5+3745 is well suited to investigate the mechanisms which trigger starburst activity and drive galaxy evolution in clusters as it provides a full range of environments to probe, from the cluster core to the filament-cluster interface and out to the low density regime of the filament proper. By examining the properties of the local environment in which starburst galaxies are activated, along with their morphological and spectroscopic attributes we can place strong constraints on the physical processes which trigger such activity and ultimately transform field galaxies into the passively evolving population of galaxies predominately found in clusters.

No associations

LandOfFree

Say what you really think

Search LandOfFree.com for scientists and scientific papers. Rate them and share your experience with other people.

Rating

Galaxy Evolution in the Cluster/Filament Environment does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.

If you have personal experience with Galaxy Evolution in the Cluster/Filament Environment, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Galaxy Evolution in the Cluster/Filament Environment will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

     

Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-1750051

  Search
All data on this website is collected from public sources. Our data reflects the most accurate information available at the time of publication.