What process involving hot cluster gas inhibits cooling and star formation?
Answer
Ram-pressure stripping
Elliptical galaxies frequently dominate the dense cores of galaxy clusters, and their quiescence can be further reinforced by environmental factors present there. One significant mechanism is ram-pressure stripping, where the surrounding hot gas pervading the cluster environment actively strips or heats the remaining interstellar gas within the member galaxy. This heating or removal prevents the gas from cooling down sufficiently to reach the high densities required to overcome internal pressure and initiate gravitational collapse, thus strongly inhibiting the ability of the elliptical galaxy to form new stars.
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