First joint MUSE, HST, and JWST spectro-photometric analysis of the intracluster light: the case of the relaxed cluster RX J2129.7+0005

TL;DR

This study provides the most detailed spectrum of intracluster light in a relaxed galaxy cluster, combining multi-wavelength imaging and spectroscopy to analyze its properties and history, revealing insights into cluster evolution.

Contribution

It introduces a novel automated method for analyzing large spectro-photometric datasets of intracluster light and applies it to a relaxed cluster, revealing its stellar populations and dynamical history.

Findings

ICL in RX J2129.7+0005 is older than in disturbed clusters.

The cluster experienced a major merger approximately 6.6 Gyr ago.

Presence of substructures supports a recent relaxation process.

Abstract

We present the most detailed spectrum of the intracluster light (ICL) in an individual cluster to date, the relaxed system RX J2129.7+0005, at $z\sim 0.234$. Using 15 broad-band, deep images observed with HST and JWST in the optical and the infrared, plus deep integral field spectroscopy from MUSE, we computed a total of 3696 ICL maps spanning the spectral range $\sim 0.4-5$ $\mu$m with our algorithm CICLE, a method that is extremely well suited to analyzing large samples of data in a fully automated way. We used both parametric and non-parametric approaches to fit the spectral energy distribution of the ICL and infer its physical properties, yielding a stellar mass $log_{10}(M_*/M_{\odot})$ between $11.5-12.7$ and an average age between $9.7-10.5$ Gyr, from CIGALE and Prospector results. This implies that the ICL in RX J2129.7+0005 is, on average, older than that of disturbed clusters, suggesting that the contribution from different stellar populations to the ICL are at play depending on the cluster's dynamical state. Coupled with X-ray observations of the hot gas distribution, we confirm the relaxed state of RX J2129.7+0005, showing clear signs of sloshing after a last major merger with a high-mass ratio satellite that could have happened $\sim 6.6$ Gyr ago in a relatively radial orbit. The presence of substructure in the ICL, such as shells, clouds with different densities and a certain degree of boxyness, and a clump, supports this scenario.