Alignment effects of clusters of galaxies

LAMBAS, DIEGO G.; NICOTRA, MARIANO; MURIEL, HERNAN; RUIZ, LUCIA

ASTRONOMICAL JOURNAL

IOP PUBLISHING LTD

Lugar: Londres; Año: 1990 vol. 100 p. 1006 - 1013

0004-6256

The measurement os 204 position angles of the brightest cluster galaxies in a sample of southern clusters is presented. Cluster-cluster alignment effects in this sample are analyzed and this is extended with a previous sample of Abell clusters in the northern hemisphere. Results suggest a weak but statically significant signal of alignment of the brightest galaxy in a cluster with the projected vector toward the nearest-neighbor cluster. The anistropy detected amounts approximately to a 30 percent excess of brightest cluster galaxies pointing to the nearest cluster of galaxies. The mean acute angle between the galaxy position angle and the direction toward the nearest neighbor is 30 + or -2 deg, or less. The scale of the detected anisotropy is D approximately equal to 15 Mpc/h.