PI: Omar Lopez-Cruz, INAOE-Tonantzintla, email@example.com
Address: Astrofisica, Luis Enrique Erro. No.1, Tonantzintla, Puebla 72840, Mexico
CoI: Manolis Plionis, INAOE-Tonantzintla
CoI: Sophie Maurogordato, Observatory of Nice, France
CoI: S. Basilakos, National Observatory of Athens
Title: Galaxy aligntments in clusters of galaxies and the LSS
Abstract: We propose to study the orientation of galaxies in clusters that show strong major axis alignments with their nearest cluster neighbors. We want to test theories of structure formation in which clusters of galaxies form in large scale filamentary superstructures by accretion of galaxies along preferred directions. In such a scenario we expect to see alignments of galaxies with their parent cluster position angle, especially in dynamically young clusters where relaxation processes have not yet erased such an alignment signature. We propose to conduct a deep wide field multicolor imaging observations survey to detect cluster galaxies out to the outskirts of their parent clusters, to measure the ellipticity distribution for the different galaxy morphological types, since the alignment signal could be galaxy-type dependent, and to reduce projection effects. We will also study the dynamical effects by quantifying the galaxy luminosity function and density profiles.
National Optical Astronomy Observatory, 950 North Cherry Avenue, P.O. Box 26732, Tucson, Arizona 85726, Phone: (520) 318-8000, Fax: (520) 318-8360