A Massive Cluster of Galaxies at z = 0.996

Abstract

We report the identification of a cluster of galaxies around the high-redshift radio galaxy 3CR184 at z = 0.996. The identification is supported by an excess of galaxies observed in projection in I band images (both in ground-based and HST data), a peak in the redshift distribution comprising 11 galaxies (out of 56 with measured redshifts) in a ~2000 km/s velocity interval, and the observation on HST WFPC2 frames of a gravitational arc seen projected at 42kpc away from the central radio galaxy. We thus have strong evidence for the presence of a massive cluster at z~1.

13 pages, 2 figures (one in color), LaTex file. Accepted for publication in ApJ letters