Person:

Patej, Anna

The dwarf galaxies of the Local Group are believed to be similar to the most abundant galaxies during the epoch of reionization (z>6). As a result of their proximity, there is a wealth of information that can be obtained about these galaxies; however, due to their low surface brightnesses, detecting their progenitors at high redshifts is challenging. We compare the physical properties of these dwarf galaxies to those of galaxies detected at high redshifts using Hubble Space Telescope and Spitzer observations and consider the promise of the upcoming James Webb Space Telescope on the prospects for detecting high redshift analogues of these galaxies.

Recent simulations have indicated that the dark matter halos of galaxy clusters should feature steep density jumps near the virial radius. Since the member galaxies are expected to follow similar collisionless dynamics as the dark matter, the galaxy density profile should show such a feature as well. We examine the potential of current datasets to test this prediction by selecting cluster members for a sample of 56 low-redshift (0.1<z<0.3) galaxy clusters, constructing their projected number density profiles, and fitting them with two profiles, one with a steep density jump and one without. Additionally, we investigate the presence of a jump using a non-parametric spline approach. We find that some of these clusters show strong evidence for a model with a density jump. We discuss avenues for further analysis of the density jump with future datasets.