The Ghost Light of Abell 2744

Montes, M.; Trujillo, I.
Bibliographical reference

IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, #2231255

Advertised on:
8
2015
Number of authors
2
IAC number of authors
1
Citations
0
Refereed citations
0
Description
Originally thought to explore the high redshift Universe, the extreme depth of the Frontier Fields survey provides also an excellent opportunity to explore with unprecedented detail the faintest component of the galaxy clusters: their intra-cluster light (ICL). In this contribution, we will show our analysis of the ICL of the cluster Abell 2744. The Frontier Fields multiwavelegth dataset have allowed us, for the first time, to explore the age and metallicity of this diffuse component of the clusters to distances as far as 120 kpc from the cluster center. We have found an ICL metallicity compatible with solar metallicity (Z=0.018 +- 0.007) and an ICL age 6+-3 Gyr younger than the average age of the most massive galaxies of the cluster. The fraction of stellar mass in the ICL component comprises at least 6 % of the total stellar mass of the galaxy cluster. Our results are consistent with a scenario where the bulk of the ICL of Abell 2744 has been formed relatively recently (z<1). The properties of the ICL suggest that this diffuse component is mainly the result of the disruption of infalling galaxies with similar characteristics in mass and metallicity than our own Milky Way. The amount of ICL mass in the central part of the cluster (<400 kpc) is equivalent to the disruption of 4-6 Milky Way-type galaxies. In this talk, we will show how the Frontier Fields survey, once will be completed, will revolutionize our understanding of the formation and evolution of this subtle component of galaxy clusters.