2021/08/12 by Kirsten Banks, Sarah Brough, Benne W. Holwerda +10 · 8 citations
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Brightest cluster galaxy #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena #Galaxy #Galaxy formation and evolution #Galaxy group #Galaxy merger #Halo #Interacting galaxy #Physics #Redshift #Satellite galaxy #Star formation #Stellar mass #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies #astro-ph.GA
paper · pdf · doi:10.3847/1538-4357/ac1c0a
published in The Astrophysical Journal 921(1), 47 (IOP Publishing) · 12 pages, 7 figures, Accepted for publication by ApJ
arxiv created 2021/08/12 · openalex publication_date 2021/10/29 · arxiv updated 2021/11/17 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract Using a volume-limited sample of 550 groups from the Galaxy And Mass Assembly Galaxy Group Catalogue spanning the halo mass range <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" overflow="scroll"> <mml:mn>12.8</mml:mn> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mi>log</mml:mi> <mml:mo stretchy="false">[</mml:mo> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>M</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>h</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo stretchy="true">/</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>M</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mo>⊙</mml:mo> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:mo stretchy="false">]</mml:mo> <mml:mo><</mml:mo> <mml:mn>14.2</mml:mn> </mml:math> , we investigate the merging potential of central Brightest Group Galaxies (BGGs). We use spectroscopically confirmed close-companion galaxies as an indication of the potential stellar mass buildup of low-redshift BGGs, z ≤ 0.2. We identify 17 close-companion galaxies with projected separations r p < 30 kpc, relative velocities Δ v ≤ 300 km s −1 , and stellar mass ratios M BGG / M CC ≤ 4 relative to the BGG. These close-companion galaxies yield a total pair fraction of 0.03 ± 0.01. Overall, we find that BGGs in our sample have the potential to grow in stellar mass due to mergers by 2.2 ± 1.5% Gyr −1 . This is lower than the stellar mass growth predicted by current galaxy evolution models.