THE REST-FRAME OPTICAL LUMINOSITY FUNCTION OF CLUSTER GALAXIES AT z < 0.8 AND THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CLUSTER RED SEQUENCE

Journal Article · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Astrophysical Journal

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/700/2/1559; COUNTRY OF INPUT: INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)· OSTI ID:21313754

Rudnick, Gregory ^[1]; Von der Linden, Anja; De Lucia, Gabriella; White, Simon ^[2]; Pello, Roser ^[3]; Aragon-Salamanca, Alfonso ^[4]; Marchesini, Danilo ^[5]; Clowe, Douglas ^[6]; Halliday, Claire ^[7]; Jablonka, Pascale ^[8]; Milvang-Jensen, Bo ^[9]; Poggianti, Bianca ^[10]; Saglia, Roberto ^[11]; Simard, Luc ^[12]; Zaritsky, Dennis ^[13]

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1. NOAO, 950 N. Cherry Ave., Tucson, AZ 85719 (United States)
2. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Astrophysik, Karl-Schwarzschild-Str. 1, D-85741, Garching (Germany)
3. Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Toulouse-Tarbes, CNRS, Universite de Toulouse, 14 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31400-Toulouse (France)
4. School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD (United Kingdom)
5. Astronomy Department, Yale University, P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States)
6. Department of Physics and Astronomy, Clippinger Labs 251B, Athens, OH 45701 (United States)
7. Osservatorio Astrofisico di Arcetri, Largo E.Fermi, 5. 50125 Florence (Italy)
8. Observatoire de Geneve, Laboratoire d'Astrophysique Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), CH-1290 Sauverny (Switzerland)
9. Dark Cosmology Centre, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100 Copenhagen Oe (Denmark)
10. Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Vicolo dell'Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova (Italy)
11. Max-Planck Institut fur extraterrestrische Physik, Giessenbachstrasse, D-85748, Garching (Germany)
12. Herzberg Institute of Astrophysics, National Research Council of Canada, Victoria, BC V9E 2E7 (Canada)
13. Steward Observatory, University of Arizona, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

We present the rest-frame optical luminosity function (LF) of red-sequence galaxies in 16 clusters at 0.4 < z < 0.8 drawn from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS). We compare our clusters to an analogous sample from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) and match the EDisCS clusters to their most likely descendants. We measure all LFs down to M {approx} M * + (2.5-3.5). At z < 0.8, the bright end of the LF is consistent with passive evolution but there is a significant buildup of the faint end of the red sequence toward lower redshift. There is a weak dependence of the LF on cluster velocity dispersion for EDisCS but no such dependence for the SDSS clusters. We find tentative evidence that red-sequence galaxies brighter than a threshold magnitude are already in place, and that this threshold evolves to fainter magnitudes toward lower redshifts. We compare the EDisCS LFs with the LF of coeval red-sequence galaxies in the field and find that the bright end of the LFs agree. However, relative to the number of bright red galaxies, the field has more faint red galaxies than clusters at 0.6 < z < 0.8 but fewer at 0.4 < z < 0.6, implying differential evolution. We compare the total light in the EDisCS cluster red sequences to the total red-sequence light in our SDSS cluster sample. Clusters at 0.4 < z < 0.8 must increase their luminosity on the red sequence (and therefore stellar mass in red galaxies) by a factor of 1-3 by z = 0. The necessary processes that add mass to the red sequence in clusters predict local clusters that are overluminous as compared to those observed in the SDSS. The predicted cluster luminosities can be reconciled with observed local cluster luminosities by combining multiple previously known effects.

• OSTI ID: 21313754
• Journal Information: Astrophysical Journal, Journal Name: Astrophysical Journal Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 700; ISSN ASJOAB; ISSN 0004-637X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
GALACTIC EVOLUTION
GALAXIES
GALAXY CLUSTERS
LUMINOSITY
MASS
RED SHIFT