Bibcode
Montes, M.; Trujillo, I.
Bibliographical reference
IAU General Assembly, Meeting #29, #2231255
Advertised on:
8
2015
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.