Tidal effects as criteria for membership in small groups of galaxies: application to VV 166.
Abstract
The distortion of the brightness distributions of galaxies in clusters by gravitational tidal forces from their neighbors is employed as an indicator of galaxy membership in small groups or clusters. The presence or absence of tidal distortion in a galaxy's luminosity profile at radii comparable to its projected separation from nearby objects is investigated to clear up some apparent redshift discrepancies in clusters. New redshift measurements are listed for seven objects in VV 166; application of the virial theorem shows that the presence of the questionable elliptical galaxy NGC 68 makes a difference of a factor of 2-4 in the mass/light ratio for the system. Isophotes for the cluster region and a radial light distribution westward from NGC 68 are determined. These data are then used to dispute the membership of NGC 68 in VV 166.
- Publication:
-
The Astrophysical Journal
- Pub Date:
- October 1974
- DOI:
- 10.1086/153122
- Bibcode:
- 1974ApJ...193...19K
- Keywords:
-
- Galactic Clusters;
- Gravitational Effects;
- Red Shift;
- Tides;
- Virial Theorem;
- Astronomical Photometry;
- Galactic Radiation;
- Galactic Rotation;
- Radial Distribution;
- Stellar Gravitation;
- Astrophysics