The discovery of a giant debris arc in the Coma cluster |
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| Authors: | Neil Trentham & Bahram Mobasher |
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| Institution: | Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu HI 96822, USA,;Astrophysics Group, Blackett Laboratory, Imperial College, Prince Consort Road, London SW7 2BZ |
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| Abstract: | We present the discovery of a giant low-surface-brightness arc, of length ～80 kpc, in the Coma cluster. The arc consists of a diffuse luminous matrix with surface brightness μB<26.5 mag arcsec?2 and a number of embedded condensations. It is not associated with any giant galaxy in Coma in particular; neither does it have the properties of a gravitational arc. We argue that a fast interaction between the nearby barred S0 galaxy IC 4026 and either IC 4041 or RB 110 is the most natural explanation for the origin of the arc. |
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| Keywords: | galaxies: clusters: individual: Coma galaxies: interactions |
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