Evolution of galaxies in groups in the Coma Supercluster

Abstract

ABSTRACT We take a close look at the galaxies in the Coma Supercluster and assess the role of the environment (in the form of cluster, group, and supercluster filament) in their evolution, in particular, examining the role of groups. We characterize the groups according to intrinsic properties such as richness and halo mass, as well as their position in the supercluster and proximity to the two rich clusters, Abell 1656 (Coma) and Abell 1367. We devise a new way of characterizing the local environment using a kernel density estimator. We find that apart from the dominant effects of the galaxy mass, the effect of the environment on galaxies is a complex combination of the overdensities on various scales, which is characterized in terms of membership of groups, and also of the position of the galaxy on filaments and their proximity to the infall regions of clusters. Whether the gas can be turned into stars depends upon the level of pre-processing, which plays a role in how star formation is enhanced in a given environment. Our results are consistent with gas accreted in the cold mode from the filaments, being made available to enhance star formation. Finally, we show that the Abell 1367 end of the supercluster is in the process of assembly at present, leading to heightened star formation activity, in contrast with the Coma-end of the filament system.