The rarity of star formation in brightest cluster galaxies as measured by WISE

Fraser-McKelvie, Amelia; Brown, Michael J. I.; Pimbblet, Kevin A.

Abstract

We present the mid-infrared star formation rates of 245 X-ray selected, nearby (z < 0.1) brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). A homogeneous and volume limited sample of BCGs was created by X-ray selecting clusters with Lx > 1 × 1044 erg s⁻ ¹. The Wide-Field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) All WISE Data Release provides the first measurement of the 12 μm star formation indicator for all BCGs in the nearby Universe. Perseus A and Cygnus A are the only galaxies in our sample to have star formation rates of > 40 M⊙ yr⁻¹, indicating that these two galaxies are highly unusual at current times. Stellar populations of 99 ± 0.6 per cent of local BCGs are (approximately) passively evolving, with star formation rates of < 10 M⊙ yr⁻¹. We find that in general, star formation produces only modest BCG growth at the current epoch.

Citation

Fraser-McKelvie, A., Brown, M. J. I., & Pimbblet, K. A. (2014). The rarity of star formation in brightest cluster galaxies as measured by WISE. Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. Letters, 444(1), L63-L67. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu117

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 18, 2014
• Online Publication Date: Aug 12, 2014
• Publication Date: Oct 11, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jun 17, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 17, 2015
• Journal: Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society Letters
• Electronic ISSN: 1745-3925
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 444
• Issue: 1
• Pages: L63-L67
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnrasl/slu117
• Keywords: Galaxies -- clusters -- general; Galaxies -- elliptical and lenticular; cD; Galaxies -- star formation; Infrared -- galaxies
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/375478
• Publisher URL: http://mnrasl.oxfordjournals.org/content/444/1/L63.abstract
• Additional Information: This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2014 The Authors. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.