Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astronomy
Scientific paper
Feb 1999
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=1999noao.prop...88f&link_type=abstract
NOAO Proposal ID #1999A-0088
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astronomy
Scientific paper
A key problem in extragalactic astronomy is how galaxy clusters dynamically evolve. Although the global properties of clusters depend sensitively on the rates of galactic cannibalism, outside accretion, and tidal-stripping, the relative importance of these mechanisms is unknown. The one property we can observe, the fraction of light removed from galaxies via tidal-stripping, is extremely difficult to detect, and until recently, had only been observed in a few very rich galaxy clusters. An exciting alternative is to study individual intracluster planetary nebulae (IPN) in nearby systems. By studying the numbers, distribution and kinematics of IPN, we can learn much about intracluster starlight and galaxy clusters as a whole. Over the past two years, we have identified and measured 130 IPN candidates in the Virgo Cluster. We propose to continue our [O III] (lambda) 5007 Virgo survey using the wide field imaging capabilities of the 4-m telescope with the CCD Mosaic camera. These observations will allow us to determine how the numbers of intracluster stars change with galaxy environment and how much of the cluster's dark matter is in faint stars. We will also search for coherent streams of intracluster stars, which are predicted by some models. Finally, the IPN will provide 3-dimensional information about Virgo's diffuse component, and will be used to probe the cluster's kinematics via PN spectroscopy.
Ciardullo Robin
Feldmeier John . J.
Jacoby George
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