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Spatially Resolved Spectroscopy of Starburst and Post-Starburst Galaxies in the Rich z ∼0.55 Cluster CL 0016+161

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2013

Michael B. Pracy*
Affiliation:
Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Warrick J. Couch
Affiliation:
Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Harald Kuntschner
Affiliation:
Space Telescope European Coordinating Facility, European Southern Observatory, Karl-Schwarzschild Strasse 2, 85748, Garching, Germany
*
CCorresponding author. Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

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We have used the Low Resolution Imaging Spectrograph on the W. M. Keck I telescope to obtain spatially resolved spectroscopy of a small sample of six ‘post-starburst’ and three ‘dusty-starburst’ galaxies in the rich cluster CL 0016+16 at z=0.55. We use this to measure radial profiles of the Hδ and [OII]λ3727 lines which are diagnostic probes of the mechanisms that give rise to the abrupt changes in star formation rates in these galaxies. In the post-starburst sample we are unable to detect any radial gradients in the Hδ line equivalent width — although one galaxy exhibits a gradient from one side of the galaxy to the other. The absence of Hδ gradients in these galaxies is consistent with their production via interaction with the intracluster medium; however, our limited spatial sampling prevents us from drawing robust conclusions. All members of the sample have early-type morphologies, typical of post-starburst galaxies in general, but lack the high incidence of tidal tails and disturbances seen in local field samples. This argues against a merger origin and adds weight to a scenario where truncation by the intra-cluster medium is at work. The post-starburst spectral signature is consistent over the radial extent probed with no evidence of [OII]λ3727 emission and strong Hδ absorption at all radii, i.e. the post-starburst classification is not an aperture effect. In contrast the ‘dusty-starburst’ sample shows a tendency for a central concentration of [OII]λ3727 emission. This is most straightforwardly interpreted as the consequence of a central starburst. However, other possibilities exist such as a non-uniform dust distribution (which is expected in such galaxies) and/or a non-uniform starburst age distribution. The members of the sample exhibit late-type and irregular morphologies.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Astronomical Society of Australia 2010

Footnotes

1

The data presented herein were obtained at the W. M. Keck Observatory, which is operated as a scientific partnership among the California Institute of Technology, the University of California and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The Observatory was made possible by the generous financial support of the W. M. Keck Foundation.

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