Galaxies in X-ray Selected Clusters and Groups in Dark Energy Survey Data I: Stellar Mass Growth of Bright Central Galaxies Since z~1.2

TL;DR

This study uses DES data to analyze the stellar mass growth of Bright Central Galaxies since redshift 1.2, finding they grow less than models predict, with intra-cluster light potentially explaining the discrepancy.

Contribution

First observational analysis of BCG stellar mass growth since z~1.2 using DES X-ray cluster data, highlighting discrepancies with semi-analytical models.

Findings

BCGs are under-massive compared to models at low redshift.

Observed BCG growth since z=1.0 is about 0.13 dex, less than the 0.40 dex predicted.

Intra-cluster light buildup may explain the slower BCG growth.

Abstract

Using the science verification data of the Dark Energy Survey (DES) for a new sample of 106 X-Ray selected clusters and groups, we study the stellar mass growth of Bright Central Galaxies (BCGs) since redshift 1.2. Compared with the expectation in a semi-analytical model applied to the Millennium Simulation, the observed BCGs become under-massive/under-luminous with decreasing redshift. We incorporate the uncertainties associated with cluster mass, redshift, and BCG stellar mass measurements into analysis of a redshift-dependent BCG-cluster mass relation, $m_{*}\propto(\frac{M_{200}}{1.5\times 10^{14}M_{\odot}})^{0.24\pm 0.08}(1+z)^{-0.19\pm0.34}$, and compare the observed relation to the model prediction. We estimate the average growth rate since $z = 1.0$ for BCGs hosted by clusters of $M_{200, z}=10^{13.8}M_{\odot}$, at $z=1.0$: $m_{*, BCG}$ appears to have grown by $0.13\pm0.11$ dex, in tension at $\sim 2.5 \sigma$ significance level with the $0.40$ dex growth rate expected from the semi-analytic model. We show that the buildup of extended intra-cluster light after $z=1.0$ may alleviate this tension in BCG growth rates.