We develop a method to identify protoclusters based on dark matter haloes represented by galaxy groups selected from surveys of galaxies at high redshift. We test the performance of this method on haloes in N-body simulations, and find that it can correctly identify more than 85 per cent of the true protoclusters with $\gtrsim 95$ per cent purity and with mass estimates typically within 0.25 dex from their true values. We show how the information provided by the protoclusters can be used to link galaxies in present-day clusters of galaxies with their high-redshift progenitors. Our tests show that the protoclusters identified by our method can recover reliably the progenitor stellar mass distribution of galaxies, thereby providing an avenue to investigate the formation and evolution of present-day galaxy clusters and their member galaxies.

中文翻译：

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寻找原始星团以追踪星系演化——I. 发现者及其性能

我们开发了一种基于暗物质晕的方法来识别原星团，这些暗物质晕由从高红移星系的调查中选择的星系群所代表。我们在 N 体模拟中测试了这种方法在晕圈上的性能，发现它可以正确识别超过 85% 的真实原星团，纯度为 $\gtrsim 95%，质量估计通常在距它们的 0.25 dex 以内真实的价值观。我们展示了如何使用原星系团提供的信息将当今星系团中的星系与其高红移的祖先联系起来。我们的测试表明，通过我们的方法识别的原星团可以可靠地恢复星系的前身恒星质量分布，从而为研究当今星系团及其成员星系的形成和演化提供了途径。