Tracing the intra-halo light of groups and clusters with Hyper Suprime-Cam images
L. P. Garate-Nuñez · UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) · 2026
The intra-halo light (IHL) is the diffuse stellar component that surrounds galaxies, groups, and clusters. Its formation is intimately linked to the hierarchical assembly of the system, making it a key tracer of galaxy evolution. In this thesis, we analyse the IHL in galaxy groups and clusters using data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC). We construct extended HSC point spread functions (PSF) and use them to develop a method for correcting PSF effects in IHL measurements. By applying different approaches, including individual fitting analyses and stacking techniques, we obtain more robust and less biased estimations of the IHL component.