Environmental effects on the galaxy luminosity function in the cluster of galaxies Abell 496

F. Durret (1) , C. Adami (2) , C. Lobo (2)

1 IAP - Institut d'Astrophysique de Paris
2 LAM - Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille

We have derived the galaxy luminosity function (GLF) in the cluster of galaxies Abell 496 from a wide field image in the I band. A single Schechter function reproduces quite well the GLF in the 17 ≤ I AB ≤ 22 (−19.5 ≤ M I ≤ −14.5) magnitude interval, and the power law index of this function is found to be somewhat steeper in the outer regions than in the inner regions. This result agrees with the idea that faint galaxies are more abundant in the outer regions of clusters, while in the denser inner regions they have partly been accreted by larger galaxies or have been dimmed or even disrupted by tidal interactions.

Keywords: galaxies; clusters; individual; Abell 496 -galaxies; luminosity function; mass function

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Astrophysics [astro-ph]

F. Durret, C. Adami, C. Lobo. Environmental effects on the galaxy luminosity function in the cluster of galaxies Abell 496. Astronomy and Astrophysics - A&A, 2002, 393 (2), pp.439-444. ⟨10.1051/0004-6361:20021077⟩. ⟨insu-03662060⟩