The Impact of Cluster Mergers on Galaxy Properties

Fuente: arXiv
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Auteurs principaux: Çakır, Oğuzhan, Owers, Matt S., Kimmig, Lucas C., Nulsen, Paul, Pak, Mina, Quattropani, Gabriella, Couch, Warrick J.
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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author Çakır, Oğuzhan
Owers, Matt S.
Kimmig, Lucas C.
Nulsen, Paul
Pak, Mina
Quattropani, Gabriella
Couch, Warrick J.
author_facet Çakır, Oğuzhan
Owers, Matt S.
Kimmig, Lucas C.
Nulsen, Paul
Pak, Mina
Quattropani, Gabriella
Couch, Warrick J.
contents The impact of galaxy cluster mergers on the properties of the resident galaxies remains poorly understood. In this paper, we investigate the effects of merging environments on star formation (SF) activity in nearby clusters ($0.04<z<0.06$) from the SAMI Galaxy Survey - A168, A2399, A3380, and EDCC 0442 - which exhibit different dynamical activity. Using single-fibre spectroscopy from the SAMI Cluster Redshift Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we trace SF activity across the cluster sample by identifying the star-forming galaxy (SFG) population based on spectral features. We find a mild enhancement in the star-forming galaxy fraction ($f_{SFG}$) in merging clusters, although not statistically significant. The spatial and projected phase-space distributions show that SFGs in merging clusters are well-mixed with the passive population, while galaxy populations exhibit a clear segregation in the relaxed clusters. Analysis of the equivalent width of the $\rm Hα$ line, as a tracer of recent SF activity, does not reveal strong evidence of triggered SF activity as a function of dynamical state for both the global cluster environment and subsamples of galaxies selected near possible merger features. This suggests that the increase in $f_{SFG}$ is due to the mixing of galaxies in dynamically complex, young merging systems that are still forming, unlike their older, relaxed counterparts that have had longer to quench.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_04799
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Impact of Cluster Mergers on Galaxy Properties
Çakır, Oğuzhan
Owers, Matt S.
Kimmig, Lucas C.
Nulsen, Paul
Pak, Mina
Quattropani, Gabriella
Couch, Warrick J.
Astrophysics of Galaxies
The impact of galaxy cluster mergers on the properties of the resident galaxies remains poorly understood. In this paper, we investigate the effects of merging environments on star formation (SF) activity in nearby clusters ($0.04<z<0.06$) from the SAMI Galaxy Survey - A168, A2399, A3380, and EDCC 0442 - which exhibit different dynamical activity. Using single-fibre spectroscopy from the SAMI Cluster Redshift Survey and Sloan Digital Sky Survey, we trace SF activity across the cluster sample by identifying the star-forming galaxy (SFG) population based on spectral features. We find a mild enhancement in the star-forming galaxy fraction ($f_{SFG}$) in merging clusters, although not statistically significant. The spatial and projected phase-space distributions show that SFGs in merging clusters are well-mixed with the passive population, while galaxy populations exhibit a clear segregation in the relaxed clusters. Analysis of the equivalent width of the $\rm Hα$ line, as a tracer of recent SF activity, does not reveal strong evidence of triggered SF activity as a function of dynamical state for both the global cluster environment and subsamples of galaxies selected near possible merger features. This suggests that the increase in $f_{SFG}$ is due to the mixing of galaxies in dynamically complex, young merging systems that are still forming, unlike their older, relaxed counterparts that have had longer to quench.
title The Impact of Cluster Mergers on Galaxy Properties
topic Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.04799