Accretion of Galaxy Groups into Galaxy Clusters

Abstract: We study the role of group infall in the assembly and dynamics of galaxy clusters in $\Lambda$CDM. We select $10$ clusters with virial mass $M_{\rm 200} \sim 10^{14} \, M_{\odot}$ from the cosmological hydrodynamical simulation Illustris and follow their galaxies with stellar mass $M_{\star} \geq 1.5 \times 10^8 \, M_{\odot}$. A median of $\sim 38\%$ of surviving galaxies at $z=0$ are accreted as part of groups and did not infall directly from the field, albeit with significant cluster-to-cluster scatter. The evolution of these galaxy associations is quick, with observational signatures of their common origin eroding rapidly in $1$-$3$ Gyr after infall. Substructure plays a dominant role in fostering the conditions for galaxy mergers to happen, even within the cluster environment. Integrated over time, we identify (per cluster) an average of $17 \pm 6$ mergers that occur in infalling galaxy associations, of which $7 \pm 3$ occur well within the virial radius of their cluster hosts. The number of mergers show large dispersion from cluster to cluster, with our most massive system having $42$ mergers above our mass cut-off. These mergers, which are typically gas rich for dwarfs and a combination of gas rich and gas poor for $M_{\star} \sim 10^{11} \, M_{\odot}$, may contribute significantly within $\Lambda$CDM to the formation of specific morphologies, such as lenticulars (S0) and blue compact dwarfs in groups and clusters.