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In this paper, we analyse the light distribution in the Hydra I cluster of galaxies to explore their low surface brightness features, measure the intra-cluster light, and address the assembly history of the cluster. For this purpose, we used deep wide-field $g$- and $r$-band images obtained with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) as part of the VEGAS project. The VST mosaic covers $ 0.4$ times the virial radius vir $) around the core of the cluster, which enabled us to map the light distribution down to faint surface brightness levels of $ 28$ mag/arcsec$^2$. In this region of the cluster, 44 cluster members are brighter than $m_B 16$ mag, and the region includes more than 300 dwarf galaxies. Similar to the projected distribution of all cluster members (bright galaxies and dwarfs), we find that the bulk of the galaxy light is concentrated in the cluster core, which also emits in the X-rays, and there are two overdensities: in the north (N) and south-east (SE) with respect to the cluster core. We present the analysis of the light distribution of all the bright cluster members. After removing foreground stars and other objects, we measured the diffuse intra-cluster light and compared its distribution with that of the globular clusters and dwarf galaxies in the cluster. We find that most of the diffuse light low surface brightness features, and signs of possible gravitational interaction between galaxies reside in the core and in the group in the N, while ram-pressure stripping is frequently found to affect galaxies within the SE group. All these features confirm that the mass assembly in this cluster is still ongoing. By combining the projected phase-space with these observed properties, we trace the different stages of the assembly history. We also address the main formation channels for the intra-cluster light detected in the cluster, which has a total luminosity of ICL L_ odot $ and contributes $ 12<!PCT!>$ to the total luminosity of the cluster.
In this paper, we analyse the light distribution in the Hydra I cluster of galaxies to explore their low surface brightness features, measure the intra-cluster light, and address the assembly history of the cluster. For this purpose, we used deep wide-field $g$- and $r$-band images obtained with the VLT Survey Telescope (VST) as part of the VEGAS project. The VST mosaic covers $ 0.4$ times the virial radius vir $) around the core of the cluster, which enabled us to map the light distribution down to faint surface brightness levels of $ 28$ mag/arcsec$^2$. In this region of the cluster, 44 cluster members are brighter than $m_B 16$ mag, and the region includes more than 300 dwarf galaxies. Similar to the projected distribution of all cluster members (bright galaxies and dwarfs), we find that the bulk of the galaxy light is concentrated in the cluster core, which also emits in the X-rays, and there are two overdensities: in the north (N) and south-east (SE) with respect to the cluster core. We present the analysis of the light distribution of all the bright cluster members. After removing foreground stars and other objects, we measured the diffuse intra-cluster light and compared its distribution with that of the globular clusters and dwarf galaxies in the cluster. We find that most of the diffuse light low surface brightness features, and signs of possible gravitational interaction between galaxies reside in the core and in the group in the N, while ram-pressure stripping is frequently found to affect galaxies within the SE group. All these features confirm that the mass assembly in this cluster is still ongoing. By combining the projected phase-space with these observed properties, we trace the different stages of the assembly history. We also address the main formation channels for the intra-cluster light detected in the cluster, which has a total luminosity of ICL L_ odot $ and contributes $ 12<!PCT!>$ to the total luminosity of the cluster.
We present theoretical predictions and extrapolations from observed data of the stellar halos surrounding central group and cluster galaxies, and the transition radius between them and the intracluster or diffuse light. Leveraging the state-of-the-art semi-analytic model of galaxy formation FEGA (Formation and Evolution of GAlaxies), applied to two dark matter-only cosmological simulations, we derived both the stellar halo mass and its radius. Using theoretical assumptions about the diffuse light distribution and halo concentration, we extrapolated the same information for observed data from the VEGAS survey. Our model, supported by observational data and independent simulation results, predicts an increasing transition radius with halo mass, a constant stellar halo-to-intracluster light ratio, and a stable stellar halo mass fraction with increasing halo mass. Specifically, we find that the transition radius between the stellar halo and the diffuse light ranges from 20 to 250 kpc, from Milky Way-like halos to large clusters, while the stellar halo mass comprises only a small fraction, between 7<!PCT!> and 18<!PCT!>, of the total stellar mass within the virial radius. These results support the idea that the stellar halo can be viewed as a transition region between the stars bound to a galaxy and those belonging to the intracluster light and are consistent with recent observations and theoretical predictions.
The diffuse stellar component of galaxy clusters made up of intergalactic stars is termed the intracluster light (ICL). Although there is a developing understanding of the mechanisms by which the ICL is formed, no strong consensus has yet been reached on which objects the stars of the ICL are primarily sourced from. We investigate the assembly of the ICL starting approximately 10 Gyr before $z=0$ in 11 galaxy clusters (halo masses between $\sim 1\times 10^{14}$ and $\sim 7\times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot }$ at $z\approx 0$) in the Horizon-AGN simulation. By tracking the stars of galaxies that fall into these clusters past cluster infall, we are able to link almost all of the $z\approx 0$ ICL back to progenitor objects. Satellite stripping, mergers, and pre-processing are all found to make significant contributions to the ICL, but any contribution from in situ star formation directly into the ICL appears negligible. Even after compensating for resolution effects, we find that approximately 90 per cent of the stacked ICL of the 11 clusters that is not pre-processed should come from galaxies infalling with stellar masses above $10^{9}$ M$_{\odot }$, with roughly half coming from infalling galaxies with stellar masses within half a dex of $10^{11}$ M$_{\odot }$. The fact that the ICL appears largely sourced from such massive objects suggests that the ICL assembly of any individual cluster may be principally stochastic.
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