Measurable Relationship Between Bright Galaxies and Their Faint Companions in WHL J085910.0+294957, a Galaxy Cluster at z = 0.30: Vestiges of Infallen Groups?

TL;DR

This study investigates the relationship between bright and faint galaxies within a galaxy cluster at z=0.30, revealing a significant color correlation that suggests remnants of infallen groups or galaxy interactions.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of color relationships between bright and faint galaxies in a cluster environment, highlighting potential evidence of infallen groups or galaxy interactions.

Findings

Significant color correlation between bright and faint galaxies (~ 98.7% confidence)

No strong dependence of faint galaxy color on cluster-centric distance

Possible evidence of infallen groups, dwarf capturing, or tidal interactions

Abstract

The properties of satellite galaxies are closely related to their host galaxies in galaxy groups. In cluster environments, on the other hand, the interaction between close neighbors is known to be limited. Our goal is to examine the relationships between host and satellite galaxies in the harsh environment of a galaxy cluster. To achieve this goal, we study a galaxy cluster WHL J085910.0+294957 at z = 0.30 using deep images obtained with CQUEAN CCD camera mounted on the 2.1-m Otto Struve telescope. After member selection based on the scaling relations of photometric and structural parameters, we investigate the relationship between bright (M_i < -18) galaxies and their faint (-18 < M_i < -15) companions. The weighted mean color of faint companion galaxies shows no significant dependence (< 1 sigma to Bootstrap uncertainties) on cluster-centric distance and local luminosity density as well as the luminosity and concentration of an adjacent bright galaxy. However, the weighted mean color shows marginal dependence (~ 2.2 sigma) on the color of an adjacent bright galaxy, when the sample is limited to bright galaxies with at least 2 faint companions. By using a permutation test, we confirm that the correlation in color between bright galaxies and their faint companions in this cluster is statistically significant with a confidence level of 98.7%. The statistical significance increases if we additionally remove non-members using the SDSS photometric redshift information (~ 2.6 sigma and 99.3%). Our results suggest three possible scenarios: (1) vestiges of infallen groups, (2) dwarf capturing, and (3) tidal tearing of bright galaxies.