Reviewing the frequency and central depletion of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in galaxy clusters from the KIWICS survey

TL;DR

This study analyzes the distribution and abundance of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies in galaxy clusters, revealing a likely sublinear relation between UDG count and cluster mass and suggesting UDG destruction in cluster centers.

Contribution

It provides a more consistent analysis of UDG abundance across a wider mass range using new KIWICS data and literature, highlighting the relation between UDGs and cluster properties.

Findings

UDG number-cluster mass relation is likely sublinear.

Massive clusters may destroy UDGs in their centers.

Extended data set improves understanding of UDG distribution.

Abstract

The number of Ultra-Diffuse Galaxies (UDGs) in clusters is of significant importance to constrain models of their formation and evolution. Furthermore, their distribution inside clusters may tell us something about their interactions with their environments. In this work we revisit the abundance of UDGs in a more consistent way than in previous studies. We add new data of UDGs in eight clusters from the Kapteyn IAC WEAVE INT Clusters Survey (KIWICS), covering a mass range in which only a few clusters have been studied before, and complement these with a compilation of works in the literature to homogeneously study the relation between the number of UDGs and the mass of their host cluster. Overall, we find that the slope of the number of UDGs$-$cluster mass relation is consistent with being sublinear when considering galaxy groups or linear if they are excluded, but we argue that most likely the behavior is sublinear. When systematically studying the relation between the projected distance to the innermost UDG and M$_{200}$ for each cluster, we find hints that favor a picture in which massive clusters destroy UDGs in their centres.