The alignment between brightest cluster galaxies and host clusters
arXiv:2209.00204 · doi:10.1093/mnras/stac2492
Abstract
The alignment between brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and host clusters can reveal the mystery of formation and evolution for galaxy clusters. We measure cluster orientations in optical based on the projected distribution of member galaxies and in X-ray by fitting the morphology of intra-cluster medium (ICM). Cluster orientations determined in the two wavelengths are generally consistent. The orientation alignment between BCGs and host clusters is confirmed and more significant than previous works. We find that BCGs are more aligned with cluster orientations measured in X-ray than those from optical data. Clusters with a brighter BCG generally show a stronger alignment. We argue that the detected redshift evolution of the alignment is probably caused by observational bias rather than intrinsic evolution. The alignment is not related to the ellipticity of BCGs, and the richness, ellipticity and dynamical state of host clusters. The strong alignment between BCGs and morphology of ICMs may be the consequence of the co-evolution between the central massive galaxy and host clusters.
8 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS
References in corpus (13)
- On the prevalence of radio-loud AGN in brightest cluster galaxies: implications for AGN heating of cooling flows
- Calibration of the optical mass proxy for clusters of galaxies and an update of the WHL12 cluster catalog
- Three Different Types of Galaxy Alignment within Dark Matter Halos
- The Influence of Large-Scale Structure on Halo Shapes and Alignments
- Spatial and kinematic alignments between central and satellite halos
- Dynamical state for 964 galaxy clusters from Chandra X-ray images
- Ten Billion Years of Brightest Cluster Galaxy Alignments
- Dynamical state of galaxy clusters evaluated from X-ray images
- Alignments of Group Galaxies with Neighboring Groups
- The radial alignment of dark matter subhalos: from simulations to observations
- Dependence of the bright end of galaxy luminosity function on cluster dynamical state
- Physical properties of Brightest Cluster Galaxies up to redshift 1.80 based on HST data
- Alignment of Galaxies and Clusters