Abstract
Using the latest cosmological hydrodynamic N-body simulations of groups and
clusters, we study how location in phase-space coordinates at $z$$=$$0$ can
provide information on environmental effects acting in clusters. We confirm the
results of previous authors showing that galaxies tend to follow a typical path
in phase-space as they settle into the cluster potential. As such, different
regions of phase-space can be associated with different times since first
infalling into the cluster. However, in addition, we see a clear trend between
total mass loss due to cluster tides, and time since infall. Thus we find
location in phase-space provides information on both infall time, and tidal
mass loss. We find the predictive power of phase-space diagrams remains even
when projected quantities are used (i.e. line-of-sight velocities, and
projected distances from the cluster). We provide figures that can be directly
compared with observed samples of cluster galaxies and we also provide the data
used to make them as supplementary data, in order to encourage the use of
phase-space diagrams as a tool to understand cluster environmental effects. We
find that our results depend very weakly on galaxy mass or host mass, so the
predictions in our phase-space diagrams can be applied to groups or clusters
alike, or to galaxy populations from dwarfs up to giants.
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