Dissecting the luminosity function of the Coma cluster of galaxies by means of CFHT wide field images

Dissecting the luminosity function of the Coma cluster of galaxies by means of CFHT wide field images Abstract. By means of wide–field (42 × 28 arcmin) CCD images of the Coma cluster of galaxies and of control fields, taken at the Canada– France–Hawaii telescope with the CFH12K and UH8K cameras, we determine the luminosity function bi–variate in central brightness. We found a clear progression for a steeping and weakening of the FL going from high surface brightness galaxies (µ ∼ 20 mag arcsec −2) to galaxies of very–faint central brightnesses (µ ∼ 24.5 mag arcsec −2). Compact galaxies , usually rejected in the star/galaxy classification, are found to be a minor population in Coma. A huge population of low surface brightness galaxies red and faint are discovered, representing the largest contributor to the LF at faint magnitudes. Among them, there could be the remnant of high redshift starbursting galaxies responsible for the Butcher–Oemler effect.