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Description
We carried out a dynamical study of the galaxy cluster pair A3407 and A3408 based on a spectroscopic survey obtained with the 4 metre Blanco telescope at the Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, plus 6dF data, and ROSAT All-Sky Survey. The sample consists of 122 member galaxies brighter than m_R_=20. Our main goal is to probe the galaxy dynamics in this field and verify if the sample constitutes a single galaxy system or corresponds to an ongoing merging process. Statistical tests were applied to clusters members showing that both the composite system A3407 + A3408 as well as each individual cluster have Gaussian velocity distribution. A velocity gradient of ~847+/-114km/s was identified around the principal axis of the projected distribution of galaxies, indicating that the global field may be rotating. Applying the kmm algorithm to the distribution of galaxies, we found that the solution with two clusters is better than the single unit solution at the 99 per cent cl. This is consistent with the X-ray distribution around this field, which shows no common X-ray halo involving A3407 and A3408. We also estimated virial masses and applied a two-body model to probe the dynamics of the pair. The more likely scenario is that in which the pair is gravitationally bound and probably experiences a collapse phase, with the cluster cores crossing in less than ~1h^-1^Gyr, a pre-merger scenario. The complex X-ray morphology, the gas temperature, and some signs of galaxy evolution in A3408 suggest a post-merger scenario, with cores having crossed each other ~1.65h^-1^Gyr ago, as an alternative solution.
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