# Distant Cluster Search: Welcoming some Newcomers from the EIS

## 1. Introduction

The quest for high–redshift ($`z>0.5`$) clusters of galaxies has recently received a lot of well deserved attention. The physical mechanisms that rule galactic evolution still lack a clear understanding, and clusters at different redshifts are privileged observational targets to develop related studies. Moreover, knowing the number density of these systems, as well as their epoch of formation, provides crucial ways of testing different theoretical cosmological models put forward in the literature (see eg Bahcall, Fan & Cen 1997).

## 2. The Algorithm

However, finding clusters at cosmologically interesting look-back times ($`z>0.5`$), not to mention defining a complete sample, is a time consuming and difficult task. Successful attempts to gather optically selected samples were made by Postman et al (1996; P96 onwards) in the northern hemisphere. Prompted by the release of the EIS data, we developed an algorithm - see Lazzati et al (1998), Lobo et al (1998) - to be applied to catalogues of galaxy positions and magnitudes. One of its main advantages is that the spatial and luminosity part of the filter are run separately on the catalogue, with no assumption on the typical size or typical $`M^{}`$ for clusters, as these parameters intervene in our algorithm only as typical angular scale - a set of gaussian $`\sigma `$’s - and typical apparent magnitude $`m^{}`$. In this way, the significance of a cluster detection is always enhanced, by combining the most probable $`m^{}`$ with the most probable angular size. Moreover, a local background is also used, allowing us to adapt well to and overcome the hazards of inhomogeneous data sets (the quality of EIS Patch A data was somewhat affected by El Niño). Extensive simulations using directly the EIS data allowed us to obtain completeness and contamination rates that do seem advantageous relatively to the respective ones obtained with the P96 algorithm (see the next section).

## 3. New Cluster Candidates

Running our new algorithm on the EIS data produced a new “robust” set of cluster candidates up to $`z1.1`$ (as estimated via the respective $`m^{}`$), namely $`41`$ for Patch A ($`3`$ sq. degs.) and $`21`$ for Patch B ($`1.5`$ sq. degs.). Out of these, nearly half are not present in the list of candidates obtained from the same data using the P96 algorithm (Olsen et al 1999; see Lobo et al 1998). The false detection rate we estimated is of $`1.3`$ spurious candidates per square degree once the threshold is set at $`S/N=4`$ (our final adopted detection threshold). For comparison, P96 report an estimated contamination rate for their final catalogue of at most $`30\%`$ in their $`5.1`$ square degree area. As for completeness, setting the detection threshold at $`S/N=4`$ still allows us to achieve a completeness of $`95\%`$ until $`z0.9`$ for richness 2, Coma-like clusters. Some of our cluster candidates have already been followed-up in multi-waveband BVRI imaging to estimate photometric redshifts and to get a handle on cluster members and determine their color properties.   
The complete list of candidates, finding charts and further details will be presented in Lobo et al (1999, in preparation).

## 4. Future

Three of our highest estimated redshift ($`z0.6`$) cluster candidates were selected for spectroscopic observations carried out with the FORS/VLT last September. The data we obtained (aimed at reaching down to $`L0.3L^{}`$, and as far as the cluster virial radius) allowed us to confirm their “cluster identity” and to secure their redshifts as being $`z0.64`$, $`z0.66`$ and $`z0.71`$, respectively. Once these data are completed, they will form a small but homogeneous sample of clusters of very similar richness and redshift, that can be used to provide us with the absolute normalization of the bright end of the luminosity function in high–$`z`$ clusters, an important constraint for theories of structure formation and evolution. We will also explore the dynamics and morphological evolution of member galaxies at a redshift associated to the assembling of large galaxy clusters.

### Acknowledgments.

C. Lobo acknowledges financial support by the CNAA fellowship reference D.D. n.37 08/10/1997

## References

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