The UV luminosity function of nearby clusters of galaxies

We present the UV composite luminosity function for galaxies in the Virgo, Coma and Abell 1367 clusters. The luminosity function (LF) is well fitted by a Schechter function with M * UV − 5 log h 75 = −20.75 ± 0.40 and α = −1.50 ± 0.10 and does not differ significantly from the local UV luminosity function of the field. This result is in agreement with recent studies carried out in the Hα and B-bands which find no difference between the LFs of star forming galaxies in clusters and in the field. This indicates that, whatever mechanisms are responsible for quenching the star formation in clusters, they influence similarly the giant and the dwarf populations, leaving the shape of the LF unchanged and only modifying its normalization.