Euclid: Early Release Observations – The intracluster light and intracluster globular clusters of the Perseus cluster^★

¹ Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics, Giessenbachstr. 1, 85748 Garching, Germany
² School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
³ Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias, Calle Vía Láctea s/n, 38204 San Cristóbal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁴ Departamento de Astrofísica, Universidad de La Laguna, 38206 La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain
⁵ Department of Astronomy, University of Florida, Bryant Space Science Center, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
⁶ Université Paris-Saclay, Université Paris Cité, CEA, CNRS, AIM, 91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
⁷ INAF – Osservatorio di Astrofisica e Scienza dello Spazio di Bologna, Via Piero Gobetti 93/3, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁸ Observatoire Astronomique de Strasbourg (ObAS), Université de Strasbourg – CNRS, UMR 7550, Strasbourg, France
⁹ European Space Agency/ESTEC, Keplerlaan 1, 2201 AZ Noord-wijk, The Netherlands
¹⁰ Kapteyn Astronomical Institute, University of Groningen, PO Box 800, 9700 AV Groningen, The Netherlands
¹¹ Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
¹² Department of Physics, Université de Montréal, 2900 Edouard Montpetit Blvd, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
¹³ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, CNES, LAM, Marseille, France
¹⁴ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Cagliari, Via della Scienza 5, 09047 Selargius (CA), Italy
¹⁵ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico d’Abruzzo, Via Maggini, 64100, Teramo, Italy
¹⁶ Univ. Lille, CNRS, Centrale Lille, UMR 9189 CRIStAL, 59000 Lille, France
¹⁷ Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut d’astrophysique spatiale, 91405 Orsay, France
¹⁸ Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik (AIP), An der Sternwarte 16, 14482 Potsdam, Germany
¹⁹ Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Astro- und Teilchenphysik, Technikerstr. 25/8, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
²⁰ Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Observatoire astronomique de Strasbourg, UMR 7550, 67000 Strasbourg, France
²¹ Institute of Astronomy, University of Cambridge, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0HA, UK
²² Waterloo Centre for Astrophysics, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
²³ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
²⁴ Institute of Physics, Laboratory of Astrophysics, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Observatoire de Sauverny, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
²⁵ Departamento de Física Teórica, Atómica y Óptica, Universidad de Valladolid, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
²⁶ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-018 Lisboa, Portugal
²⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Via Frascati 33, 00078 Monteporzio Catone, Italy
²⁸ Observatorio Nacional, Rua General Jose Cristino, 77-Bairro Imperial de Sao Cristovao, Rio de Janeiro 20921-400, Brazil
²⁹ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, 98bis Boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
³⁰ OCA, P.H.C Boulevard de l’Observatoire CS 34229, 06304 Nice Cedex 4, France
³¹ Instituto de Astrofísica de Andalucía, CSIC, Glorieta de la Astronomía, 18080 Granada, Spain
³² Université Côte d’Azur, Observatoire de la Côte d’Azur, CNRS, Laboratoire Lagrange, Bd de l’Observatoire, CS 34229, 06304 Nice cedex 4, France
³³ ESAC/ESA, Camino Bajo del Castillo, s/n., Urb. Villafranca del Castillo, 28692 Villanueva de la Cañada, Madrid, Spain
³⁴ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Brera, Via Brera 28, 20122 Milano, Italy
³⁵ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Via Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
³⁶ INFN-Sezione di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
³⁷ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova, Via dell’Osservatorio 5, 35122 Padova, Italy
³⁸ Universitäts-Sternwarte München, Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Scheinerstrasse 1, 81679 München, Germany
³⁹ INAF-Osservatorio Astrofisico di Torino, Via Osservatorio 20, 10025 Pino Torinese (TO), Italy
⁴⁰ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
⁴¹ INFN-Sezione di Genova, Via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
⁴² Department of Physics “E. Pancini”, University Federico II, Via Cinthia 6, 80126, Napoli, Italy
⁴³ INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Capodimonte, Via Moiariello 16, 80131 Napoli, Italy
⁴⁴ INFN section of Naples, Via Cinthia 6, 80126 Napoli, Italy
⁴⁵ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Universidade do Porto, CAUP, Rua das Estrelas, 4150-762 Porto, Portugal
⁴⁶ Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Rua do Campo de Alegre, 4150-007 Porto, Portugal
⁴⁷ Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
⁴⁸ INFN-Sezione di Torino, Via P. Giuria 1, 10125 Torino, Italy
⁴⁹ Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College London, Holmbury St Mary, Dorking, Surrey RH5 6NT, UK
⁵⁰ INAF-IASF Milano, Via Alfonso Corti 12, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁵¹ Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Avenida Complutense 40, 28040 Madrid, Spain
⁵² Port d’Informació Científica, Campus UAB, C. Albareda s/n, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
⁵³ Institute for Theoretical Particle Physics and Cosmology (TTK), RWTH Aachen University, 52056 Aachen, Germany
⁵⁴ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, 40127 Bologna, Italy
⁵⁵ Institute for Astronomy, University of Edinburgh, Royal Observatory, Blackford Hill, Edinburgh EH9 3HJ, UK
⁵⁶ Jodrell Bank Centre for Astrophysics, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
⁵⁷ European Space Agency/ESRIN, Largo Galileo Galilei 1, 00044 Frascati, Roma, Italy
⁵⁸ Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IP2I Lyon, UMR 5822, F-69100 Villeurbanne, France
⁵⁹ UCB Lyon 1, CNRS/IN2P3, IUF, IP2I Lyon, 4 rue Enrico Fermi, 69622 Villeurbanne, France
⁶⁰ Departamento de Física, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C8, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁶¹ Instituto de Astrofísica e Ciências do Espaço, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, 1749-016 Lisboa, Portugal
⁶² Department of Astronomy, University of Geneva, ch. d’Ecogia 16, 1290 Versoix, Switzerland
⁶³ Department of Physics, Oxford University, Keble Road, Oxford OX1 3RH, UK
⁶⁴ INFN-Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
⁶⁵ INAF-Istituto di Astrofisica e Planetologia Spaziali, via del Fosso del Cavaliere, 100, 00100 Roma, Italy
⁶⁶ Institut d’Estudis Espacials de Catalunya (IEEC), Edifici RDIT, Campus UPC, 08860 Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain
⁶⁷ Institut de Ciencies de l’Espai (IEEC-CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n Cerdanyola del Vallés, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
⁶⁸ INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Trieste, Via G. B. Tiepolo 11, 34143 Trieste, Italy
⁶⁹ Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS/IN2P3, CPPM, Marseille, France
⁷⁰ Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Sezione di Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
⁷¹ FRACTAL S.L.N.E., calle Tulipán 2, Portal 13 1A, 28231, Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
⁷² Dipartimento di Fisica “Aldo Pontremoli”, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 16, 20133 Milano, Italy
⁷³ Institute of Theoretical Astrophysics, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1029 Blindern, 0315 Oslo, Norway
⁷⁴ Leiden Observatory, Leiden University, Einsteinweg 55, 2333 CC Leiden, The Netherlands
⁷⁵ Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, 4800 Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109, USA
⁷⁶ Department of Physics, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YB, UK
⁷⁷ Felix Hormuth Engineering, Goethestr. 17, 69181 Leimen, Germany
⁷⁸ Technical University of Denmark, Elektrovej 327, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark
⁷⁹ Cosmic Dawn Center (DAWN), Denmark
⁸⁰ Institut d’Astrophysique de Paris, UMR 7095, CNRS, and Sorbonne Université, 98 bis boulevard Arago, 75014 Paris, France
⁸¹ Department of Physics and Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁸² Université de Genève, Département de Physique Théorique and Centre for Astroparticle Physics, 24 quai Ernest-Ansermet, CH-1211 Genève 4, Switzerland
⁸³ Department of Physics, PO Box 64, 00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
⁸⁴ Helsinki Institute of Physics, Gustaf Hällströmin katu 2, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
⁸⁵ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
⁸⁶ NOVA optical infrared instrumentation group at ASTRON, Oude Hoogeveensedijk 4, 7991PD, Dwingeloo, The Netherlands
⁸⁷ Universität Bonn, Argelander-Institut für Astronomie, Auf dem Hügel 71, 53121 Bonn, Germany
⁸⁸ Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “Augusto Righi” – Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, via Piero Gobetti 93/2, 40129 Bologna, Italy
⁸⁹ Department of Physics, Centre for Extragalactic Astronomy, Durham University, South Road, DH1 3LE, UK
⁹⁰ Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Astroparticule et Cosmologie, 75013 Paris, France
⁹¹ University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Northwestern Switzerland, School of Engineering, 5210 Windisch, Switzerland
⁹² IFPU, Institute for Fundamental Physics of the Universe, via Beirut 2, 34151 Trieste, Italy
⁹³ School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XH, UK
⁹⁴ School of Mathematics, Statistics and Physics, Newcastle University, Herschel Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
⁹⁵ Department of Physics, Institute for Computational Cosmology, Durham University, South Road DH1 3LE, UK
⁹⁶ Institut de Física d’Altes Energies (IFAE), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Campus UAB, 08193 Bellaterra (Barcelona), Spain
⁹⁷ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade 120, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
⁹⁸ Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 2Y5, Canada
⁹⁹ Space Science Data Center, Italian Space Agency, via del Politec-nico snc, 00133 Roma, Italy
¹⁰⁰ Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales – Centre spatial de Toulouse, 18 avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse Cedex 9, France
¹⁰¹ Institute of Space Science, Str. Atomistilor, nr. 409 Măgurele, Ilfov 077125, Romania
¹⁰² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia “G. Galilei”, Università di Padova, Via Marzolo 8, 35131 Padova, Italy
¹⁰³ Departamento de Física, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Blanco Encalada 2008, Santiago, Chile
¹⁰⁴ INFN-Sezione di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 2, c/o Dipartimento di Fisica, Edificio G. Marconi, 00185 Roma, Italy
¹⁰⁵ Satlantis, University Science Park, Sede Bld 48940, Leioa-Bilbao, Spain
¹⁰⁶ Institute of Space Sciences (ICE, CSIC), Campus UAB, Carrer de Can Magrans, s/n, 08193 Barcelona, Spain
¹⁰⁷ Centre for Electronic Imaging, Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK
¹⁰⁸ Infrared Processing and Analysis Center, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
¹⁰⁹ Universidad Politécnica de Cartagena, Departamento de Elec-trónica y Tecnología de Computadoras, Plaza del Hospital 1, 30202 Cartagena, Spain
¹¹⁰ Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), Université de Toulouse, CNRS, UPS, CNES, 14 Av. Edouard Belin, 31400 Toulouse, France
¹¹¹ INFN-Bologna, Via Irnerio 46, 40126 Bologna, Italy
¹¹² Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli studi di Genova, and INFN-Sezione di Genova, via Dodecaneso 33, 16146 Genova, Italy
¹¹³ Centre for Information Technology, University of Groningen, PO Box 11044, 9700 CA Groningen, The Netherlands
¹¹⁴ INAF, Istituto di Radioastronomia, Via Piero Gobetti 101, 40129 Bologna, Italy
¹¹⁵ Junia, EPA department, 41 Bd Vauban, 59800 Lille, France
¹¹⁶ Aurora Technology for European Space Agency (ESA), Camino bajo del Castillo, s/n, Urbanizacion Villafranca del Castillo, Villanueva de la Cañada, 28692 Madrid, Spain
¹¹⁷ Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z1, Canada

^★★ Corresponding author; nina.hatch@nottingham.ac.uk

Received: 17 May 2024
Accepted: 11 November 2024

Abstract

We study the intracluster light (ICL) and intracluster globular clusters (ICGCs) in the nearby Perseus cluster of galaxies using Euclid’s Early Release Observations. By modelling the isophotal and iso-density contours, we mapped the distributions and properties of the ICL and ICGCs out to radii of 200-600 kpc (up to ~ 1/3 of the virial radius, depending on the parameter) from the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG). We find that the central 500 kpc of the Perseus cluster hosts 70 000 ± 2800 globular clusters, and 1.7 × 10¹² L_⊙ of diffuse light from the BCG+ICL in the near-infrared H_E. This accounts for 38 ± 6% of the cluster’s total stellar luminosity within this radius. The ICL and ICGCs share a coherent spatial distribution which suggests that they have a common origin or that a common potential governs their distribution. Their contours on the largest scales (>200 kpc) are not centred on the BCG’s core, but are instead offset westwards by 60 kpc towards several luminous cluster galaxies. This offset is opposite to the displacement observed in the gaseous intracluster medium. The radial surface brightness profile of the BCG+ICL is best described by a double Sérsic model, with 68 ± 4% of the H_E light contained in the extended, outer component. The transition between these components occurs at ≈60 kpc, beyond which the isophotes become increasingly elliptical and off-centred. Furthermore, the radial ICGC number density profile closely follows the profile of the BCG+ICL only beyond this 60 kpc radius, where we find an average of 60-80 globular clusters per 10⁹ M_⊙ of diffuse stellar mass. The BCG+ICL colour becomes increasingly blue with radius, consistent with the stellar populations in the ICL having subsolar metallicities [Fe/H] ~ –0.6 to –1.0. The colour of the ICL, and the specific frequency and luminosity function of the ICGCs suggest that the ICL+ICGCs were tidally stripped from the outskirts of massive satellites with masses of a few ×10¹⁰ M_⊙, with an increasing contribution from dwarf galaxies at large radii.