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Full-Text Articles in Physics
The Importance Of Major Mergers In The Build Up Of Stellar Mass In Brightest Cluster Galaxies At Z = 1, C. Lidman, G. Iacobuta, A. E. Bauer, L. F. Barrientos, P. Cerulo, W. J. Couch, L. Delaye, R. Demarco, E. Ellingson, A. J. Faloon, D. Gilbank, M. Huertas-Company, S. Mei, J. Meyers, A. Muzzin, A. Noble, J. Nantais, A. Rettura, P. Rosati, R. Sánchez-Janssen, V. Strazzullo, T. M. A. Webb, G. Wilson, Renbin Yan, H. K. C. Yee
The Importance Of Major Mergers In The Build Up Of Stellar Mass In Brightest Cluster Galaxies At Z = 1, C. Lidman, G. Iacobuta, A. E. Bauer, L. F. Barrientos, P. Cerulo, W. J. Couch, L. Delaye, R. Demarco, E. Ellingson, A. J. Faloon, D. Gilbank, M. Huertas-Company, S. Mei, J. Meyers, A. Muzzin, A. Noble, J. Nantais, A. Rettura, P. Rosati, R. Sánchez-Janssen, V. Strazzullo, T. M. A. Webb, G. Wilson, Renbin Yan, H. K. C. Yee
Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications
Recent independent results from numerical simulations and observations have shown that brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) have increased their stellar mass by a factor of almost 2 between z ∼ 0.9 and z ∼ 0.2. The numerical simulations further suggest that more than half this mass is accreted through major mergers. Using a sample of 18 distant galaxy clusters with over 600 spectroscopically confirmed cluster members between them, we search for observational evidence that major mergers do play a significant role. We find a major merger rate of 0.38 ± 0.14 mergers per Gyr at z ∼ 1. While the uncertainties, …