Segregation Effects According to the Evolutionary Stage of Galaxy Groups

Andre L. B. Ribeiro, Paulo A. A. Lopes, Marina Trevisan

Published 2010-09-22Version 1

We study segregation phenomena in 57 groups selected from the 2PIGG catalog of galaxy groups. The sample corresponds to those systems located in areas of at least 80% redshift coverage out to 10 times the radius of the groups. The dynamical state of the galaxy systems was determined after studying their velocity distributions. We have used the Anderson-Darling test to distinguish relaxed and non-relaxed systems. This analysis indicates that 84% of groups have galaxy velocities consistent with the normal distribution, while 16% of them have more complex underlying distributions. Properties of the member galaxies are investigated taking into account this classification. Our results indicate that galaxies in Gaussian groups are significantly more evolved than galaxies in non-relaxed systems out to distances of about 4R200, presenting signficantly redder (B-R) color. We also find evidence that galaxies with M_R < -21.5 in Gaussian groups are closer to the condition of energy equipartition.