NIR and Optical Structural Parameters of Galaxies in the Cluster AC118 at z=0.31

Abstract

We present some preliminary results related to a project aimed at studying the evolution of the galaxy population in rich environments by means of the Color-Magnitude relation and of the Fundamental Plane. We derive the NIR and optical structural parameters for a sample of galaxies in the cluster AC118 at z=0.31. We prove that reliable structural parameters of galaxies at z$\sim$0.3 can be still derived from ground--based observations. The NIR effective radii, measured for the first time at this redshift, turn out to be significantly smaller than those derived from the optical data, providing new insight into the evolution of colour gradients in galaxies.

4 pages, 2 figures. To appear in ASP Conference Series: Proceeding of the Workshop "Tracing Cosmic Evolution with Galaxy Clusters". One reference removed