{
  "id": "1512.04549",
  "version": "v1",
  "published": "2015-12-14T21:02:34.000Z",
  "updated": "2015-12-14T21:02:34.000Z",
  "title": "Slow quenching of star formation in OMEGAWINGS clusters: galaxies in transition in the local universe",
  "authors": [
    "Angela Paccagnella",
    "Benedetta Vulcani",
    "Bianca Maria Poggianti",
    "Alessia Moretti",
    "Jacopo Fritz",
    "Marco Gullieuszik",
    "Warrick Couch",
    "Daniela Bettoni",
    "Antonio Cava",
    "Giovanni Fasano",
    "Mauro D'Onofrio"
  ],
  "categories": [
    "astro-ph.GA"
  ],
  "abstract": "The star formation quenching depends on environment, but a full understanding of what mechanisms drive it is still missing. Exploiting a sample of galaxies with masses $M_\\ast>10^{9.8}M_\\odot$, drawn from the WIde-field Nearby Galaxy-cluster Survey (WINGS) and its recent extension OMEGAWINGS, we investigate the star formation rate (SFR) as a function of stellar mass (M$_*$) in galaxy clusters at $0.04<z<0.07$. We use non-member galaxies at 0.02$<$z$<$0.09 as field control sample. Overall, we find agreement between the SFR-M$_*$ relation in the two environments, but detect a population of cluster galaxies with reduced SFRs which is rare in the field. These {\\it transition} galaxies are mainly found within the cluster virial radius ($R_{200}$) but they impact on the SFR-M$_*$ relation only within 0.6R$_{200}$. The ratio of transition to PSF galaxies strongly depends on environment, being larger than 0.6 within 0.3R$_{200}$ and rapidly decreasing with distance, while it is almost flat with $M_*$. As galaxies move downward from the SFR-M$_*$ main sequence, they become redder and present older luminosity and mass weighted ages. These trends, together with the analysis of the star formation histories, suggest that transition galaxies have had a reduced SFR for the past 2-5 Gyr. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the interaction of galaxies with the intracluster medium via strangulation causes a gradual shut down of star formation, giving birth to an evolved population of galaxies in transition from being star forming to becoming passive.",
  "revisions": [
    {
      "version": "v1",
      "updated": "2015-12-14T21:02:34.000Z"
    }
  ],
  "analyses": {
    "keywords": [
      "transition",
      "omegawings clusters",
      "local universe",
      "slow quenching",
      "wide-field nearby galaxy-cluster survey"
    ],
    "note": {
      "typesetting": "TeX",
      "pages": 0,
      "language": "en",
      "license": "arXiv",
      "status": "editable"
    }
  }
}