BCG Mass Evolution in Cosmological Hydro-Simulations

We analyze the stellar growth of Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs) produced by cosmological zoom-in hydrodynamical simulations of the formation of massive galaxy clusters. The evolution of the stellar mass content is studied considering different apertures, and tracking backwards either the main progenitor of the $z=0$ BCG or that of the cluster hosting the BCG at $z=0$. Both methods lead to similar results up to $z \simeq 1.5$. The simulated BCGs masses at $z=0$ are in agreement with recent observations. In the redshift interval from $z=1$ to $z=0$ we find growth factors 1.3, 1.6 and 3.6 for stellar masses within 30kpc, 50kpc and 10% of $R_{500}$ respectively. The first two factors, and in…