Bibcode
DOI
Napolitano, Nicola R.; Pannella, Maurilio; Arnaboldi, Magda; Gerhard, Ortwin; Aguerri, J. Alfonso L.; Freeman, Kenneth C.; Capaccioli, Massimo; Ghigna, Sebastiano; Governato, Fabio; Quinn, Tom; Stadel, Joachim
Bibliographical reference
The Astrophysical Journal, Volume 594, Issue 1, pp. 172-185.
Advertised on:
9
2003
Journal
Citations
82
Refereed citations
69
Description
We use a high-resolution collisionless simulation of a Virgo-like
cluster in a ΛCDM cosmology to determine the velocity and
clustering properties of the diffuse stellar component in the
intracluster region at the present epoch. The simulated cluster builds
up hierarchically and tidal interactions between member galaxies and the
cluster potential produce a diffuse stellar component free-flying in the
intracluster medium. Here we adopt an empirical scheme to identify
tracers of the stellar component in the simulation and hence study its
properties. We find that at z=0 the intracluster stellar light is mostly
unrelaxed in velocity space and clustered in structures whose typical
clustering radii are about 50 kpc at R=400-500 kpc from the cluster
center, and we predict the radial velocity distribution expected in
spectroscopic follow-up surveys. Finally, we compare the spatial
clustering in the simulation with the properties of the Virgo
intracluster stellar population, as traced by ongoing intracluster
planetary nebula surveys in Virgo. The preliminary results indicate a
substantial agreement with the observed clustering properties of the
diffuse stellar population in Virgo.