Infall and starbursts in z ∼ 0.5 clusters

Abstract

In this paper I address three topics. The first regards the use of composite spectra as a tool to study the spectral evolution of galaxies in intermediate-redshift clusters. This technique is used to demonstrate the robustness of measurements of strong H$\delta$ absorption, indicative of mild-to-moderate starbursts, in a significant fraction of galaxies in these clusters. Second, I present some spectroscopic data on Abell 851 ($z=0.41$) that suggests that the starbursts in this cluster have been triggered by tidal encounters in infalling groups in the cluster. Third, I briefly describe the IMACS imaging-spectrograph, which has been built for the Magellan-Baade telescope, and, following the idea that the outskirts of clusters are “where the action is,” describe a large spectroscopic program to study “cluster building” using IMACS.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html