We have selected Abell 3266 to search for ram-pressure induced star formation as a global property of a merging cluster. Abell 3266 (z = 0.0594) is a high mass cluster that features a high velocity dispersion, an infalling subcluster near to the line of sight, and a strong shock front. These phenomena should all contribute to making Abell 3266 an optimum cluster to see the global effects of RPS induced star formation. Using archival X-ray observations and published optical data, we cross-correlate optical spectral properties ([OII, H$beta$]), indicative of starburst and post starburst, respectively with ram-pressure, $rho$v$^{2}$, calculated from the X-ray and optical data. We find that post-starburst galaxies, classified as E+A, occur at a higher frequency in this merging cluster than in the Coma cluster and at a comparable rate to intermediate redshift clusters. This is consistent with increased star formation due to the merger. However, both starburst and post-starburst galaxies are equally likely to be in a low or high ram pressure environment. From this result we infer that the duration of the starburst phase must be very brief so that: (1) at any time only a small fraction of the galaxies in a high ram pressure environment show this effect, and (2) most post-starburst galaxies are in an environment of low ram pressure due too their continued orbital motion in the cluster.
Download