WINGS Data Release: a database of galaxies in nearby clusters

Context. Cluster galaxies are the ideal sites to look at when studying the influence of the environment on the various aspects of the evolution of galaxies, such as the changes in their stellar content and morphological transformations. In the framework of wings, the WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey, we have obtained optical spectra for ∼6000 galaxies selected in fields centred on 48 local (0.04 < z < 0.07) X-ray selected clusters to tackle these issues. Aims. By classifying the spectra based on given spectral lines, we investigate the frequency of the various spectral types as a function of both the clusters' properties and the galaxies' characteristics. In this way, using the same classification criteria adopted for studies at higher redshift, we can consistently compare the properties of the local cluster population to those of their more distant counterparts. Methods. We describe a method that we have developed to automatically measure the equivalent width of spectral lines in a robust way, even in spectra with a non optimal signal-to-noise ratio. This way, we can derive a spectral classification reflecting the stellar content, based on the presence and strength of the [Oii] and Hδ lines. Results. After a quality check, we are able to measure 4381 of the ∼6000 originally observed spectra in the fields of 48 clusters, of which 2744 are spectroscopically confirmed cluster members. The spectral classification is then analysed as a function of galaxies' luminosity, stellar mass, morphology, local density, and host cluster's global properties and compared to higher redshift samples (MORPHS and EDisCS). The vast majority of galaxies in the local clusters population are passive objects, being also the most luminous and massive. At a magnitude limit of M V < −18, galaxies in a post-starburst phase represent only ∼11% of the cluster population, and this fraction is reduced to ∼5% at M V < −19.5, which compares to the 18% at the same magnitude limit for high-z clusters. "Normal" star-forming galaxies (e(c)) are proportionally more common in local clusters. Conclusions. The relative occurrence of post-starbursts suggests a very similar quenching efficiency in clusters at redshifts in the 0 to ∼1 range. Furthermore, more important than the global environment, the local density seems to be the main driver of galaxy evolution in local clusters at least with respect to their stellar populations content.

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“…More details on this catalogue and on wings in general and its products can be found in Moretti et al (2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wings-Spe

Fritz

Poggianti

Cava

et al. 2014

A&A

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“…The photometric and spectroscopic WINGS/Omega-WINGS catalogs are now available on the Virtual Observatory (Moretti et al 2014;Gullieuszik et al 2015). The WINGS database includes not only the magnitudes of the galaxies in the field, but also important quantities derived from the photometric and spectroscopic analyses, such as effective radii and surface brightness, flattening, masses, light indexes, and velocity dispersions.…”

Section: Data Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

Characterization of Omega-WINGS galaxy clusters

Cariddi

D’Onofrio

Fasano

et al. 2018

A&A

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Context. Galaxy clusters are the largest virialized structures in the observable Universe. Knowledge of their properties provides many useful astrophysical and cosmological information. Aims. Our aim is to derive the luminosity and stellar mass profiles of the nearby galaxy clusters of the Omega-WINGS survey and to study the main scaling relations valid for such systems. Methods. We merged data from the WINGS and Omega-WINGS databases, sorted the sources according to the distance from the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG), and calculated the integrated luminosity profiles in the B and V bands, taking into account extinction, photometric and spatial completeness, K correction, and background contribution. Then, by exploiting the spectroscopic sample we derived the stellar mass profiles of the clusters. Results. We obtained the luminosity profiles of 46 galaxy clusters, reaching r 200 in 30 cases, and the stellar mass profiles of 42 of our objects. We successfully fitted all the integrated luminosity growth profiles with one or two embedded Sérsic components, deriving the main clusters parameters. Finally, we checked the main scaling relation among the clusters parameters in comparison with those obtained for a selected sample of early-type galaxies (ETGs) of the same clusters. Conclusions. We found that the nearby galaxy clusters are non-homologous structures such as ETGs and exhibit a color-magnitude (CM) red-sequence relation very similar to that observed for galaxies in clusters. These properties are not expected in the current cluster formation scenarios. In particular the existence of a CM relation for clusters, shown here for the first time, suggests that the baryonic structures grow and evolve in a similar way at all scales.

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“…The WINGS database is made available to the community through the Virtual Observatory (Moretti et al 2014). WINGS is currently the only data set providing a homogeneous database of detailed photometric, morphological, and spectroscopic characteristics for several thousand galaxies in galaxy clusters.…”

Section: The Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this work we exploit the full dataset, WINGS and literature data, to perform a detailed dynamical analysis of the whole WINGS-OPT sample, including 76 galaxy clusters (cluster A3562 is excluded because V-band images were obtained under poor seeing conditions). In Paper I we have already presented a detailed data quality analysis and comparison with literature data, detailing the method for including literature data in the WINGS-SPE catalog (see also Moretti et al 2014). After updating the catalog with the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) DR7 and the latest NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) data, our final catalog includes ∼ 10, 000 galaxies with redshift determinations (∼ 60% from WINGS only), increasing the global spectroscopic completeness level (defined as the number counts of galaxies with redshifts to the number counts of galaxies in the photometric parent sample in magnitude bins, see Paper I) for our sample of galaxy clusters from ∼ 50% to ∼ 80% for galaxies below magnitude ∼ 18, and reaching 50% completeness at a magnitude of ∼ 19.3.…”

Section: Spectroscopic Data: the Extended (Wings+literature) Samplementioning

confidence: 99%

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Structural and dynamical modeling of WINGS clusters

Cava

Biviano

Mamon

et al. 2017

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Context. We study the distribution of galaxies in nearby clusters to shed light on the evolutionary processes at work within clusters and prepare for a full dynamical analysis to be conducted in forthcoming papers of this series. Aims. We use the Wide-field Nearby Galaxy-clusters Survey (WINGS) database complemented with literature data. We assign galaxy membership to individual clusters, then select a sample of 67 clusters with at least 30 spectroscopic members each. 53 of these clusters do not show evidence of substructures in phase-space, as measured by the Dressler-Shectman test, while 14 do. We estimate the virial radii and circular velocities of the 67 clusters by a variety of proxies (velocity dispersion, X-ray temperature, and richness) and use these estimates to build stack samples from these 53 and 14 clusters, that we call 'Reg' and 'Irr' stacks, respectively. We show that our results are robust with regard to the choice of the virial radii and circular velocities used to scale galaxy radii and velocities in the stacking procedure. We determine the number-density and velocity-dispersion profiles of Elliptical (E), S0, and Spiral+Irregular (S) galaxies in the Reg and Irr samples, separately, and fit models to these profiles. Methods. The number density profiles of E, S0, and S galaxies are adequately described by either a Navarro, Frenk, & White (NFW) or a cored King model, both for the Reg and Irr samples, with a slight preference for the NFW model. The spatial distribution concentration increases from the S to the S0 and to the E populations, both in the Reg and the Irr stacks, reflecting the well-known morphology-radius relation. Reg clusters have a more concentrated spatial distribution of E and S0 galaxies than Irr clusters, while the spatial distributions of S galaxies in Reg and Irr clusters have a similar concentration. We propose a new phenomenological model that provides acceptable fits to the velocity dispersion profile of all our galaxy samples. The velocity dispersion profiles become steeper and with a higher normalization from E to S0 to S galaxies. The S0 velocity dispersion profile is close to that of E galaxies in Reg clusters, and intermediate between those of E and S galaxies in Irr clusters. Results. Our results suggest that S galaxies are a recently accreted cluster population, that take ≤ 3 Gyr to evolve into S0 galaxies after accretion, and in doing so modify their phase-space distribution, approaching that of cluster ellipticals. While in Reg clusters this evolutionary process is mostly completed, it is still ongoing in Irr clusters.

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WINGS Data Release: a database of galaxies in nearby clusters

Cited by 79 publications

References 46 publications

Wings-Spe

Wings-Spe

Characterization of Omega-WINGS galaxy clusters

Structural and dynamical modeling of WINGS clusters

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