TRENDS IN DWARF EARLY-TYPE KINEMATICS WITH CLUSTER-CENTRIC RADIUS DRIVEN BY TIDAL STIRRING

We model the dynamics of dwarf early-type galaxies in the Virgo cluster when subject to a variety of environmental processes. We focus on how these processes imprint trends in the dynamical state (rotational versus pressure support as measured by the lambda(Re/2)* statistic) with projected distance from the cluster center, and compare these results to observational estimates. We find a large scatter in the gradient of lambda(Re/2)* with projected radius. A statistical analysis shows that models with no environmental effects produce gradients as steep as those observed in none of the 100 cluster realizations we consider, while in a model incorporating tidal stirring by the cluster potential 34% of realizations produce gradients as steep as that observed. Our results suggest that tidal stirring may be the cause of the observed radial dependence of dwarf early-type dynamics in galaxy clusters.