Detection of intergalactic red-giant-branch stars in the Virgo cluster

Henry C. Ferguson (), Nial R. Tanvir and Ted von Hippel
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Henry C. Ferguson: Space Telescope Science Institute
Nial R. Tanvir: University of Cambridge, Institute of Astronomy
Ted von Hippel: University of Wisconsin

Nature, 1998, vol. 391, issue 6666, 461-463

Abstract: Abstract It has been suspected for nearly 50 years that galaxy clusters contain a population of intergalactic stars ripped from the galaxies during cluster formation, or when the galactic orbits pass through the cluster centre1,2,3. Observational support for theexistence of such a stellar population is provided both by measurements of the diffuse light in clusters4,5,6,7,8,9, and by the recent detection of planetary nebulae with positions or velocities far removed from any observable cluster galaxy10,11. But estimates for the mass of the diffuse population and its distribution relative to the cluster galaxies are still highly uncertain. Here we report the direct detection of intergalactic stars in deep images of a blank field in the Virgo cluster. The data suggest that these stars form approximately one-tenth of the total stellar mass of the cluster. We observe a relatively homogeneous distribution of stars, with evidence of a slight gradient towards M87.

Date: 1998
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DOI: 10.1038/35087

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