This dissertation presents a series of studies of the intracluster
light, or ICL, in galaxy clusters. The ICL consists of stellar
luminosity within the cluster that resides outside of the
individual cluster galaxies, and is characterized by its very low
surface brightness. The aim of this dissertation is to identify the
mechanisms through which the ICL is generated, and to relate its
observable properties to the broader dynamical evolution of the
cluster and its constituent galaxies.
Several of the studies in this dissertation are based on N-body
simulations of the evolution of galaxy clusters, which are
specifically designed to track the dynamics of the ICL component.
With these simulations I show that ICL is generated through the
gravitational stripping which occurs as galaxies and groups within the
cluster interact with one another. Thus, the quantity of ICL
increases as the cluster evolves, and its properties are intimately
related to the specific dynamical history of the cluster. I also find
that the morphology of the ICL evolves as the cluster ages
dynamically, where the discrete streams and substructures which
dominate early in the cluster's history dissolve to form a diffuse,
amorphous background at later times. Additionally, while there is no
single universally accepted quantitative definition of what
constitutes the ICL, I find that most commonly used definitions probe
the cluster's evolution similarly.
Finally, I present a deep imaging study of the ICL in the core of the
Virgo cluster. I show that the discrete tidal features surrounding
M87, the cluster's cD galaxy, which are very likely the result of
low-mass galaxies being stripped through interactions with the cD,
have colors similar to both the extended cD envelope and the more
diffuse ICL component within the cluster. This suggests a common
origin for all three types of feature, where the cD envelope and the
diffuse ICL are generated from the dissolution of the streams created
by the gravitational stripping of low-mass galaxies within the
cluster.