Physics
Scientific paper
Aug 2000
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2000phdt.........2f&link_type=abstract
Thesis, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University 2000
Physics
9
Galaxy Clusters: Virgo, Intracluster Starlight
Scientific paper
Intracluster stars - stars outside of individual galaxies - are a sensitive measure of the poorly understood processes of galactic mergers, cluster accretion, and tidal-stripping that occur in galaxy clusters. Unfortunately, although the first detection of intracluster starlight occurred almost fifty years ago, research into its properties has been hampered by observational difficulties. Recently however, there have been multiple discoveries of individual intracluster planetary nebulae (IPN) in the nearby clusters of Virgo and Fornax. These objects provide a new tool to probe the structure and evolution of galaxy clusters. IPN have a number of properties that make them excellent tracers of the intracluster starlight as a whole. The distribution of planetary nebulae closely follows the distribution of starlight in galaxies, so planetaries directly measure the amount of intracluster luminosity. Planetary nebulae also have a well-defined luminosity function, allowing one to determine the three dimensional spatial distribution of the intracluster stars. Finally, since planetaries are emission-line objects, their velocities can be determined readily, and information on the kinematics of the intracluster star population gained. The goals of this thesis were to increase the sample of known IPN from a handful to a large number, and to determine their basic properties in the nearby, well-studied, Virgo cluster of galaxies. A survey of 3951 square arcminutes of the Virgo cluster and blank control fields was undertaken, and a total of 319 IPN candidates and 9 contaminating objects were found. From this data, it is concluded that the intracluster starlight of Virgo 1) is luminous (at least 15% of the total starlight), 2) varies spatially, 3) is elongated along our line-of-sight, and 4) may be of moderate age and metallicity. Although some (about 20%) of the candidates are inferred to be high redshift galaxies, the majority of the candidates appear to be genuine IPN.
No associations
LandOfFree
A Survey of Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Virgo Cluster 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 A Survey of Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Virgo Cluster, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A Survey of Intracluster Planetary Nebulae in the Virgo Cluster will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-892335