2024/12/19 by Yolanda Jiménez-Teja, Javier Román, Kim HyeongHan +9 · 1 voice · 8 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics #Brightest cluster galaxy #CCD and CMOS Imaging Sensors #Cluster (spacecraft) #Coma (optics) #Coma Cluster #Elliptical galaxy #Galaxy #Galaxy cluster #Galaxy groups and clusters #Intracluster medium #Physics #Stellar, planetary, and galactic studies
paper · pdf · open access · doi:10.1051/0004-6361/202452384
published in Astronomy and Astrophysics 694, A216 (EDP Sciences)
openalex publication_date 2025/01/29 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
The detection and study of the intracluster light (ICL) in rich clusters of galaxies has been a longstanding challenge and key focus. Using the lowest-surface-brightness images of the Coma cluster of galaxies in the g and r bands, from the Halos and Environment of Nearby Galaxies (HERON) Coma Cluster Project, we obtained the most extensive image of ICL in a single cluster to date, spreading over 1.5 Mpc from the cluster core. The unprecedented wealth of spectroscopic data from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Early Data Release, along with a compilation from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database and available data from the literature, enabled the identification of 2157 galaxy members within Coma; on this basis, 42 distinct groups were identified. The synergy between these high-quality data allowed us to: (1) calculate ICL fractions of 19.9 ± 0.5% and 19.6 ± 0.6% in the g and r bands, respectively, consistent with a dynamically active cluster; (2) unveil Coma’s faintest tidal features; and (3) provide a comprehensive picture of the dynamics and interactions within this complex system. Our findings indicate that the ICL connects several of these groups in a filamentous network, from which we can infer ongoing dynamical processes. In particular, we identified a faint stellar bridge linking the core of Coma with the galaxy NGC 4839, providing compelling evidence that this galaxy has already traversed the central region of the cluster.