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A new algorithm for the detection of intercluster galaxy filaments using galaxy orientation alignments

2005/01/11 by Kevin A. Pimbblet
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph

paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2966.2005.08780.x

published as Mon.Not.Roy.Astron.Soc. 358 (2005) 256 · 7 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

arxiv created 2005/01/11 · openalex publication_date 2005/03/01 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

We present a new algorithm for detecting intercluster galaxy filaments based upon the assumption that the orientations of constituent galaxies along such filaments are non-isotropic. We apply the algorithm to the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey catalogue and find that it readily detects many straight filaments between close cluster pairs. At large intercluster separations (≫15h−1 Mpc), we find that the detection efficiency falls quickly, as it also does with more complex filament morphologies. We explore the underlying assumptions and suggest that it is only in the case of close cluster pairs that we can expect galaxy orientations to be significantly correlated with filament direction.

Citations