| Abstract | We present the results of photographic surface photometry of late-type spiral galaxies in the clusters Abell 426, Abell 367, and Abell 2151. We analyzed U- and R-band surface brightness profile properties in terms of the following environmental parameters: the projected distance from cluster center, the projected distance to the nearest neighbor, and the local projected galaxy density. We found no significant correlation between the structure of the galaxies and the projected distance from cluster center. We did find a marginally significant effect associated with the projected separation from nearest neighbor; galaxies with near neighbors have systematically larger slopes in their disk brightness and color profiles, and substantially larger variances in these two structural parameters. The most pronounced correlation found was with the projected galaxy density; both the isophotal radius and the slope of the disk brightness profiles are affected, and the color profile may be affected. We attribute these influences to environmental processes-ram pressure stripping of the galaxy gas by the intracluster medium and tidal stripping of the stellar material by the prolonged exposure to the gravitational field of subclusters. |
