Radio continuum survey of the Coma/A1367 supercluster. III - Properties of galaxies in different density environments

The analysis of a radio continuum survey of 724 galaxies in the Coma Supercluster region is reported. The analysis is based on the radio luminosity function (RLF) and on the distribution of the radio to optical ratio function of galaxies in different regimes of local galaxy density and of different morphological types. For low and moderate luminosities, the RLFs of E/SO galaxies in clusters, groups, and multiple systems are found to be similar. Isolated galaxies are 'radio-poor' by a factor of about five. Spirals in rich clusters have a typical luminosity about 10 times higher than galaxies outside clusters. The radio-bright cluster spirals are mostly late morphological types. High radio luminosity in cluster spirals correlates well with indicators of star formation and with H I deficiency. This suggests that interaction with the cluster medium leads to collapse of molecular clouds, star formation, generation of cosmic rays, and morphological distortions.