Star formation beyond galaxies: widespread in-situ formation of intra-cluster stars
Niusha Ahvazi, Laura V. Sales, Julio F. Navarro, Andrew Benson,, Alessandro Boselli, Richard D'Souza

TL;DR
This study reveals that a significant portion of intra-cluster light forms in-situ far from galaxy centers, mainly through diffuse star formation in the circum-cluster medium, challenging previous assumptions about star origins in clusters.
Contribution
It demonstrates that a substantial fraction of intra-cluster stars form directly in the cluster environment, often far from galaxy centers, using high-resolution cosmological simulations.
Findings
8-28% of ICL stars are formed in-situ.
Diffuse star formation rate in ICL is about 1 solar mass per year.
In-situ stars predominantly form in filamentary gas clouds far from galaxy centers.
Abstract
We study the fraction of the intra-cluster light (ICL) formed in-situ in the three most massive clusters of the TNG50 simulation, with virial masses M. We find that a significant fraction of ICL stars (-) are born in-situ. This amounts to a total stellar mass comparable to the central galaxy itself. Contrary to simple expectations, only a sub-dominant fraction of these in-situ ICL stars are born in the central regions and later re-distributed to more energetic orbits during mergers. Instead, many in-situ ICL stars form directly hundreds of kiloparsecs away from the central galaxy, in clouds condensing out of the circum-cluster medium. The simulations predict a present-date diffuse star formation rate of 1 /yr, with higher rates at higher redshifts. The diffuse star forming component of the ICL is filamentary in nature,…
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Taxonomy
TopicsStellar, planetary, and galactic studies · Astronomy and Astrophysical Research
