The Halpha Luminosity Function of the Galaxy Cluster Abell 521 at z = 0.25

Abstract

We present an optical multicolor-imaging study of the galaxy cluster Abell 521 at $z = 0.25$, using Suprime-Cam on the Subaru Telescope, covering an area of $32 \times 20$ arcmin$^2$ ($9.4 \times 5.8 h_{50}^{-2}$ Mpc$^2$ at $z = 0.25$). Our imaging data taken with both a narrow-band filter, $NB816$ ($λ_0 = 8150$à and $Δλ= 120$à ), and broad-band filters, $B,V,R_{\rm C}, i^\prime$, and $z^\prime$ allow us to find 165 H$α$ emitters. We obtain the H$α$ luminosity function (LF) for the cluster galaxies within 2 Mpc; the Schechter parameters are $α= -0.75 \pm 0.23$, $ϕ^\star = 10^{-0.25 \pm 0.20}$ Mpc$^{-3}$, and $L^\star = 10^{42.03 \pm 0.17}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Although the faint end slope, $α$, is consistent with that of the local cluster H$α$ LFs, the characteristic luminosity, $L^\star$, is about 6 times (or $\approx 2$ mag) brighter. This strong evolution implies that Abell 521 contains more active star-forming galaxies than the local clusters, being consistent with the observed Butcher-Oemler effect. However, the bright $L^\star$ of Abell 521 may be, at least in part, due to the dynamical condition of this cluster.

21 pages, 7 figures, ApJ, Part 1, in press