The Evolution of [OII] Emission from Cluster Galaxies

Abstract

We investigate the evolution of the star formation rate in cluster galaxies. We complement data from the CNOC1 cluster survey (0.15<z<0.6) with measurements from galaxy clusters in the 2dF galaxy redshift survey (0.05<z<0.1) and measurements from recently published work on higher redshift clusters, up to almost z=1. We focus our attention on galaxies in the cluster core, ie. galaxies with r<0.7h^{-1}_{70}Mpc. Averaging over clusters in redshift bins, we find that the fraction of galaxies with strong [OII] emission is < 20% in cluster cores, and the fraction evolves little with redshift. In contrast, field galaxies from the survey show a very strong increase over the same redshift range. It thus appears that the environment in the cores of rich clusters is hostile to star formation at all the redshifts studied. We compare this result with the evolution of the colours of galaxies in cluster cores, first reported by Butcher & Oemler (1984). Using the same galaxies for our analysis of the [OII] emission, we confirm that the fraction of blue galaxies, which are defined as galaxies 0.2 mag bluer in the rest frame B-V than the red sequence of each cluster, increases strongly with redshift. Since the colours of galaxies retain a memory of their recent star formation history, while emission from the [OII] line does not, we suggest that these two results can best be reconciled if the rate at which the clusters are being assembled is higher in the past, and the galaxies from which it is being assembled are typically bluer.

8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

References in corpus (42)

• The Sloan Digital Sky Survey: Technical Summary
• The 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey: Spectra and redshifts
• High Redshift Galaxies in the Hubble Deep Field. Color Selection and Star Formation History to z=4
• Galaxy Harassment and the Evolution of Clusters of Galaxies
• Quantifying the bimodal color-magnitude distribution of galaxies
• The Dependence of Star Formation History and Internal Structure on Stellar Mass for 10^5 Low-Redshift Galaxies
• The Star Formation History of Field Galaxies
• The Environmental Dependence of the Relations between Stellar Mass, Structure, Star Formation and Nuclear Activity in Galaxies
• The CANADA-FRANCE REDSHIFT SURVEY XIII: The luminosity density and star-formation history of the Universe to z ~ 1
• Differential Galaxy Evolution in Cluster and Field Galaxies at z=0.3
• The First Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• The Origin of Star Formation Gradients in Rich Galaxy Clusters
• The Star Formation Histories of Galaxies in Distant Clusters
• Ram Pressure Stripping of Spiral Galaxies in Clusters
• The bimodal galaxy color distribution: dependence on luminosity and environment
• Gone with the wind: the origin of S0 galaxies in clusters
• The Average Mass-to-Light Profile of Galaxy Clusters
• On the evolution of star forming galaxies
• A Spectroscopic Catalog of 10 Distant Rich Clusters of Galaxies
• Galaxy ecology: groups and low-density environments in the SDSS and 2dFGRS
• Galaxy Cluster Virial Masses and Omega
• On the Survival and Destruction of Spiral Galaxies in Clusters
• Galaxy groups in the 2dFGRS: the group-finding algorithm and the 2PIGG catalogue
• The Ages of Elliptical Galaxies in a Merger Model
• Star formation rate indicators in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey
• HST Photometry and Keck Spectroscopy of the Rich Cluster MS1054-03: Morphologies, Butcher-Oemler Effect and the Color-Magnitude Relation at z=0.83
• The Evolution of Population Gradients in Galaxy Clusters: the Butcher-Oemler Effect and Cluster Infall
• The Spatial and Kinematic Distributions of Cluster Galaxies in a LCDM Universe -- Comparison with Observations
• The EMSS catalog of X-ray-selected clusters of galaxies. I. An atlas of CCD images of 41 distant clusters
• Effects of Ram-Pressure from Intracluster Medium on the Star Formation Rate of Disk Galaxies in Clusters of Galaxies
• Reconstructing the History of Star Formation in Rich Cluster Cores
• H-alpha Photometry of Abell 2390
• A Panoramic Halpha Imaging Survey of the z=0.4 cluster Cl0024.0+1652 with Subaru
• A Study of Nine High-Redshift Clusters of Galaxies: II. Photometry, Spectra, and Ages of Clusters 0023+0423 and 1604+4304
• A low global star formation rate in the rich galaxy cluster AC114 at z=0.32
• The Butcher-Oemler Effect in 295 Clusters: Strong Redshift Evolution and Cluster Richness Dependence
• A Study of Nine High-Redshift Clusters of Galaxies: IV. Photometry and Sp ectra of Clusters 1324+3011 and 1604+4321
• Hidden star-formation in the cluster of galaxies Abell 1689
• An H-alpha survey of the rich cluster A1689
• Environmental Effects on Evolution of Cluster Galaxies in a LCDM Universe
• H$\alpha$-Derived Star-Formation Rates for the z=0.84 Galaxy Cluster CLJ0023+0423B
• X-Ray Wakes in Abell 160

Cited by in corpus (15)

• The evolution of the star formation activity in galaxies and its dependence on environment
• Protoclusters associated with z > 2 radio galaxies. I. Characteristics of high redshift protoclusters
• Galaxy Groups at 0.3 <= z <= 0.55. I. Group Properties
• High star formation activity in the central region of a distant cluster at z=1.46
• The colour of galaxies in distant groups
• Discovery of an Excess of Halpha Emitters around 4C 23.56 at z=2.48
• The galaxy populations from the centers to the infall regions in z~0.25 clusters
• The Evolution of Galaxies in X-ray Luminous Groups
• The stellar mass content of distant galaxy groups
• Mass and Redshift Dependence of Star Formation in Relaxed Galaxy Clusters
• A Photometrically Detected Forming Cluster of Galaxies at Redshift 1.6 in the GOODS Field
• VIS3COS: I. survey overview and the role of environment and stellar mass on star formation
• X-ray Groups of Galaxies at 0.5<z<1 in zCOSMOS: Increased AGN Activities in High Redshift Groups
• Infalling Faint [OII] Emitters in Abell 851. II. Environment, Kinematics, and Star Formation History
• Imprints of Environment on Cluster and Field Late-type Galaxies at z~1