The merging cluster of galaxies Abell 3376: an optical view

Context. The cluster Abell 3376 is a merging cluster of galaxies at redshift z = 0.046. It is famous mostly for its giant radio arcs, and shows an elongated and highly substructured X-ray emission, but has not been analysed in detail at optical wavelengths.
Aims: To improve our understanding of the effects of the major cluster merger on the galaxy properties, we analyse the galaxy luminosity function (GLF) in the B band in several regions as well as the dynamical properties of the substructures.
Methods: We have obtained wide field images of Abell 3376 in the B band and derive the GLF applying a statistical subtraction of the background in three regions: a circle of 0.29 deg radius (1.5 Mpc) encompassing the whole cluster, and two circles centred on each of the two brightest galaxies (BCG2, northeast, coinciding with the peak of X-ray emission, and BCG1, southwest) of radii 0.15 deg (0.775 Mpc). We also compute the GLF in the zone around BCG1, which is covered by the WINGS survey in the B and V bands, by selecting cluster members in the red sequence in a (B - V) versus V diagram. Finally, we discuss the dynamical characteristics of the cluster implied by an analysis based on the Serna & Gerbal (SG) method.
Results: The GLFs are not well fit by a single Schechter function, but satisfactory fits are obtained by summing a Gaussian and a Schechter function. The GLF computed by selecting galaxies in the red sequence in the region surrounding BCG1 can also be fit by a Gaussian plus a Schechter function. An excess of galaxies in the brightest bins is detected in the BCG1 and BCG2 regions. The dynamical analysis based on the SG method shows the existence of a main structure of 82 galaxies that can be subdivided into two main substructures of 25 and six galaxies. A smaller structure of six galaxies is also detected.
Conclusions: The B band GLFs of Abell 3376 are clearly perturbed, as already found in other merging clusters. The dynamical properties are consistent with the existence of several substructures, which is in agreement with a previously published X-ray analysis.

Based on observations taken with the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory (CTIO) Blanco and the Southern Astrophysics Research (SOAR) telescopes. This research has made use of the VizieR and NED data bases.The galaxy catalogue is only available at the CDS via anonymous ftp to http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (ftp://130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr/viz-bin/qcat?J/A+A/560/A78