Bibcode
Aguerri, J. A. L.; Longobardi, A.; Zarattini, S.; Kundert, A.; D'Onghia, E.; Domínguez-Palmero, L.
Bibliographical reference
Astronomy and Astrophysics, Volume 609, id.A48, 9 pp.
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1
2018
Journal
Citations
6
Refereed citations
6
Description
Context. It is thought that fossil systems are relics of structure
formation in the primitive Universe. They are galaxy aggregations that
have assembled their mass at high redshift with few or no subsequent
accretion. Observationally these systems are selected by large magnitude
gaps between their 1st and 2nd ranked galaxies (Δm12).
Nevertheless, there is still debate over whether or not this
observational criterium selects dynamically evolved ancient systems. Aims: We have studied the properties of the nearby fossil group RX
J075243.6+455653 in order to understand the mass assembly of this
system. Methods: Deep spectroscopic observations allow us to
construct the galaxy luminosity function (LF) of RX J075243.6+455653
down to Mr*+6. The analysis of the faint-end of
the LF in groups and clusters provides valuable information about the
mass assembly of the system. In addition, we have analyzed the nearby
large-scale structure around this group. Results: We identified
26 group members within r200 0.96 Mpc. These galaxies are
located at Vc = 15551 ± 65 km s-1 and have
a velocity dispersion of σc = 333 ± 46 km
s-1. The X-ray luminosity of the group is LX = 2.2
× 1043 h70-2 erg s-1,
resulting in a mass of M = 4.2 × 1013
h70-1 within 0.5r200. The group has
Δm12 = 2.1 within 0.5r200, confirming the
fossil nature of this system. RX J075243.6+455653 has a central
brightest group galaxy (BGG) with Mr = -22.67, one of the
faintest BGGs observed in fossil systems. The LF of the group shows a
flat faint-end slope (α = -1.08 ± 0.33). This low density
of dwarf galaxies is confirmed by the low value of the dwarf-to-giant
ratio (DGR = 0.99 ± 0.49) for this system. Both the lack of dwarf
galaxies and the low luminosity of the BGG suggests that RX
J075243.6+455653 still has to accrete mass from its nearby environment.
This mass accretion will be achieved because it is the dominant
structure of a rich environment formed by several groups of galaxies
(15) within 7 Mpc from the group center and with ± 1000 km
s-1. Conclusions: RX J075243.6+455653 is a group of
galaxies that has not yet completed the process of its mass assembly.
This new mass accretion will change the fossil state of the group. This
group is an example of a galaxy aggregation selected by a large
magnitude gap but still in the process of the accretion of its mass.
Related projects
Galaxy Evolution in Clusters of Galaxies
Galaxies in the universe can be located in different environments, some of them are isolated or in low density regions and they are usually called field galaxies. The others can be located in galaxy associations, going from loose groups to clusters or even superclusters of galaxies. One of the foremost challenges of the modern Astrophysics is to
Jairo
Méndez Abreu