Spectroscopy of arcs in the rich cluster Abell 963

Ellis, Richard; Allington-Smith, Jeremy; Smail, Ian

Abstract

Spectra are presented for portions of the two arcs observed close to the dominant cD galaxy in the rich cluster Abell 963 (z = 0.206). The spectrum of the northern arc displays a strong emission line at 6600 Å which is seen along the entire arc. The feature cannot be understood unless the redshift is greater than that of the cluster, the most likely interpretation being [O II] 3727 Å at z = 0.771. The southern arc is considerably fainter and its spectrum shows no obvious features. However, new CCD photometry is consistent with a near-constant blue color ( B – R ~ 0.3) along both arcs, supporting the suggestion that they arise from the gravitationally lensed light of a background object. The optical and infrared color is consistent with a spiral galaxy undergoing strong star formation at this redshift. We discuss briefly the implication of this result, and the possible role lensing surveys may play in the study of high-redshift galaxies.

Citation

Ellis, R., Allington-Smith, J., & Smail, I. (1991). Spectroscopy of arcs in the rich cluster Abell 963. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 249(1), 184-190. https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/249.1.184

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Publication Date: Mar 1, 1991
• Deposit Date: Nov 10, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 10, 2016
• Journal: Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
• Print ISSN: 0035-8711
• Electronic ISSN: 1365-2966
• Publisher: Royal Astronomical Society
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 249
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 184-190
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/mnras/249.1.184
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1584317