TRGB distances to galaxies in front of the Virgo cluster

TL;DR

This study uses Hubble Space Telescope data to measure precise distances to galaxies in front of the Virgo Cluster, refining the cluster's location, infall radius, and mass estimates.

Contribution

It provides new, highly accurate distance measurements to 16 galaxies, constrains the Virgo Cluster's infall region, and estimates its mass, enhancing understanding of local large-scale structure.

Findings

Virgo Cluster's near side is 7.3 Mpc from the infall point.

Mass within the turnaround radius is approximately 8.3 x 10^{14} solar masses.

Distances to galaxies are measured with 5% accuracy.

Abstract

Tip of the red giant branch distances are acquired from Hubble Space Telescope images for 16 galaxies to the foreground of the Virgo Cluster. The new distances with 5% accuracy, combined with archival measurements, tightly constrain the near side location of the onset of infall into the Virgo Cluster to be 7.3+-0.3 Mpc from the cluster, reaching within 9 Mpc of the Milky Way. The mass within this turnaround radius about the cluster is 8.3+-0.9 x 10^{14} Msun. Color-magnitude diagrams are provided for galaxies in the study and there is brief discussion of their group affiliations.