Characterizing Barred Galaxies in the Abell 901/902 Supercluster

TL;DR

This study examines how dense cluster environments influence the formation and properties of galactic bars by analyzing data from the Abell 901/902 supercluster and comparing it with field galaxy surveys.

Contribution

It introduces an alternative method for measuring bar fractions and investigates how bar properties vary with galaxy characteristics in cluster environments.

Findings

Bar fraction varies with galaxy color and morphology.

Environmental effects impact bar formation and evolution.

New methodology improves bar detection accuracy.

Abstract

In dense clusters, higher densities at early epochs as well as physical processes, such as ram pressure stripping and tidal interactions become important, and can have direct consequences for the evolution of bars and their host disks. To study bars and disks as a function of environment, we are using the STAGES ACS HST survey of the Abell 901/902 supercluster (z~0.165), along with earlier field studies based the SDSS and the Ohio State University Bright Spiral Galaxy Survey (OSUBSGS). We explore the limitations of traditional methods for characterizing the bar fraction, and in particular highlight uncertainties in disk galaxy selection in cluster environments. We present an alternative approach for exploring the proportion of bars, and investigate the properties of bars as a function of host galaxy color, Sersic index, stellar mass, star formation rate (SFR), specific SFR, and morphology.