Extended Infrared Emission in the Galaxy Cluster 1E 1111.9−3754: No Evidence for a Low-Mass Accretion Population

Optical observations of an extended red halo surrounding the galaxy 1E 1111.9-3754 sparked considerable interest as potentially the first detection of low-mass star formation in an X-ray cooling flow. To test this possibility, we obtained near-infrared surface photometry of this galaxy at J (1.25 μm) and K (2.15 μm) and compare this data with models of a low-mass stellar accretion population. Our surface brightness measurements are consistent with a normal r 1/4 elliptical galaxy profile and show no evidence of an extended infrared halo, which argues against the low-mass stellar accretion hypothesis.