Date/Time
Date(s) - 21/09/2011
3:20 pm - 4:20 pm

Title: Using Intracluster Light to Probe Galaxy Clusters

Speaker: Dr. Chris Mihos – Case Western Reserve

Institute: Department of Astronomy, CWRU

Location: ABB 102

Description:

The life of a cluster galaxy is a violent one. As galaxy clusters form and evolve, their member galaxies frequently collide and interact both with other galaxies and galaxy groups, and with the cluster as a whole. Over time, these interactions strip stars from their host galaxies and spread them throughout the cluster to form a diffuse “intracluster light” (ICL). Using numerical simulations, we can explore the formation and structure of the ICL, and use it as a tracer of the dynamical evolution of galaxy clusters. Our deep, wide-field imaging of the nearby Virgo Cluster has revealed a remarkably complex web of diffuse ICL in Virgo. The morphology and color of this starlight allow us to probe the accretion and infall history of individual Virgo galaxies as well.