Name: Eduardo S. Cypriano

Institution: University College London

e-mail: esc(no-spam)star.ucl.ac.uk

Partner Contry: UK

Science Meeting: Yes

User Meeting: Yes

NGO Staff Meeting: No

Presentation: Yes

Format: Oral

Title: The nature of fossil groups and clusters unveiled by Gemini

Co-author: Claudia Mendes de Oliveira Laerte Sodre' Jr.

Abstract:

Fossil galaxy groups are systems dominated by a single giant elliptical galaxy at the centre of an extended bright X-ray halo. In this presentation we will describe our ongoing optical survey of fossil groups and discuss the results obtained so far from four groups we studied with GMOS data. The results are not completely homogeneous but it can safely be stated that fossil groups have i) a significant amount of faint galaxies gravitationally bound to the central elliptical, most of them with red colours; ii) dynamical masses consistent with the X-ray emission. Both evidences clearly favour a merging scenario where dynamical friction drives the bright galaxies to merge and form the central galaxy

Comments:

My attendance on the meeting depends on the approval of my funding request by the UK Gemini office.