Nathan Kaib with Chris Mihos  (Astronomy)

The Study of Diffuse Intracluster Starlight

As galaxies move throughout clusters, they are subjected to the tidal forces due to the gravitational field of the cluster and gravitational forces called galaxy harassment stemming from close encounters with other cluster galaxies.  Both of these effects tend to strip stars from the cluster galaxies, and over time a thinly spread population of intracluster stars accumulates.  Evolutionary models for galaxy clusters can be made, and from these, simulated images can be produced.  The structure and intensity of the intracluster starlight in the simulated images will then be characterized.  The features of this light, from which predictions about the cluster age and baryonic to dark matter ratios can be made, will then be compared to the intracluster light of actual observed clusters.