Formation and evolution of heavy sub-structures in the centre of galaxy clusters: the local effect of dark energy

TL;DR

This study uses N-body simulations to explore how dense sub-structures form and evolve in galaxy cluster centers, highlighting the impact of galaxy interactions and dark energy effects.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the formation of dense sub-structures in galaxy cluster centers through detailed simulation analysis.

Findings

Dense sub-structures form via galaxy collisions and mergers.

Structural properties depend on initial galaxy characteristics.

Dark energy influences cluster core evolution.

Abstract

We discuss how the centres of galaxy clusters evolve in time, showing the results of a series of direct N-body simulations. In particular, we followed the evolution of a galaxy cluster with a mass $M_{clus} \simeq 10^{14} $M$_{\odot}$ in different configurations. The dynamical evolution of the system leads in all the cases to the formation of dense and massive sub-structures in the cluster centre, that form in consequence of a series of collisions and merging among galaxies travelling in the cluster core. We investigate how the structural properties of the main merging product depends on the characteristics of those galaxies that contributed to its formation.