Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2002
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2002hst..prop.9541v&link_type=abstract
HST Proposal ID #9541
Physics
Hst Proposal Id #9541 Cosmology
Scientific paper
Establishing the formation mechanism of cluster galaxies gives direct information on the origins of the Hubble sequence and the morphology-density relation. Extensive studies with HST have led to a basic understanding of the star formation histories of cluster galaxies, but assessing the time and mechanism of their structural assembly has proven difficult, and has led to conflicting results. The main problem is the difficulty in distinguishing elliptical and S0 galaxies at high redshift. This proposal asks support to re-analyze the exquisite archival WFPC2 data on clusters at z~ 0.5 using two novel techniques, with the aim of determining objectively when and how elliptical and S0 galaxies in clusters were assembled. The goals are 1} to unambiguously distinguish elliptical and S0 galaxies in distant clusters using their ellipticities combined with spatially resolved kinematics, and 2} to determine the evolution of the galaxy merger fraction in clusters from the incidence of close pairs. Together, these projects give important new constraints on the assembly time of massive galaxies, and will put the ``elliptical versus S0'' controversy to rest. Keck spectroscopic data allowing measurements of spatially resolved kinematics are already obtained for 39 galaxies in four clusters. As a ``bonus'', the cluster-to-cluster scatter in the intermediate redshift Fundamental Plane of early-type galaxies will be determined.
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