Shedding Light on Galaxy Clusters: The Origin of Intracluster Light

Galaxy clusters are dynamic cosmic structures that evolve and grow over time by interacting with their surroundings, merging with other clusters, and attracting surrounding galaxies into their gravitational influence. These processes generate intense tidal forces that profoundly affect individual galaxies. Stars are stripped away from their parent galaxies, and some galaxies are even entirely destroyed, giving rise to the diffuse and faint ensemble of stars known as intracluster light (ICL) which permeates galaxy clusters.

The ICL accumulates gradually as galaxy clusters continue to grow by absorbing smaller satellite galaxies from surrounding cosmic filaments. Understanding the quantity and distribution of ICL provides unique insights into the assembly history and dynamic evolution of clusters, as well as the influence of the broader cosmic environment.

Despite its elusive nature, new highly sensitive facilities including Euclid and the Vera C. Rubin Observatory, are now allowing us to study the ICL in unprecedented detail. To interpret these new observations effectively, we need a comprehensive theoretical understanding of the processes that give rise to intracluster light.

This includes identifying the primary sources of ICL, understanding the fate of the stars stripped from these galaxies, and how this stellar material is distributed throughout the cluster.

Interested PhD candidates will leverage data from a number of cutting-edge hydrodynamical simulations to trace the formation of the ICL. They will investigate the properties of the galaxies contributing to it and how different simulation models, with varying levels of fidelity and physical assumptions, influence ICL production. They will work closely with external collaborators in cosmological simulations and observers working with state-of-the-art facilities like Roman, Euclid, and the Vera C.

Rubin Observatory with the goal of establishing a solid foundation with which to unlock a comprehensive understanding of galaxy cluster formation and evolution.