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Euclid: Quick Data Release (Q1) -- Exploring the detailed visual morphology of galaxies in clusters

Published 8 Sep 2026 in astro-ph.GA | (2609.08962v1)

Abstract: Galaxy clusters provide unique laboratories for studying environmental effects on galaxy evolution. The morphology--density (TT--ΣΣ) and morphology--cluster-centric radius (TT--RR) relations trace how galaxy morphology is influenced by the environment, but previous studies at intermediate redshifts have been limited in both sample size and radial coverage. We use the Euclid Quick Data Release 1 (Q1) visual morphology catalogue to measure the TT--ΣΣ and TT--RR relations for smooth, featured-or-disc, and barred galaxies in known clusters at 0.2z0.50.2\leq z\leq 0.5, extending this analysis to large cluster-centric distances (3R500c3 R_{500c}) and studying their dependence on stellar mass. Using photometric redshifts and stellar masses provided by Euclid, we identify 1754 cluster members within 1.5R500c1.5 R_{500c}, distributed across 71 clusters. We classify the identified galaxies as smooth, featured-or-disc, or barred using the predicted vote fractions provided by the Zoobot deep learning foundation model in the Q1 visual morphology catalogue. We confirm the TT--ΣΣ relation in all the stellar mass ranges studied, with a stronger influence of the cluster environment on galaxy morphology in the densest parts of the cluster and closer to the cluster centre. Beyond 1.5R500c1.5 R_{500c}, the morphological segregation weakens, with featured-or-disc galaxies overtaking smooth galaxies at the lowest densities, consistent with the growing contribution of field interlopers in the cluster outskirts. For barred galaxies, we find a tentative decline of the bar fraction toward lower densities that is most pronounced for the most massive galaxies. In conclusion, our results show that the cluster environment drives a progressive transformation of galaxy morphology, with the loss of disc structure becoming more pronounced towards the cluster core, where environmental processes act most efficiently.

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