Kinematics of AWM and MKW poor clusters

We have measured 1365 redshifts to a limiting magnitude of R similar to 15.5 in 15 AWM/MKW clusters and have collected another 203 from the literature in MKW 4s, MKW 2, and MKW 2s. In AWM 7 we have extended the redshift sample to R similar to 18 in the cluster center. We have identified 704 cluster members in 17 clusters; 201 are newly identified. We summarize the kinematics and distributions of the cluster galaxies and provide an initial discussion of substructure, mass and luminosity segregation, spectral segregation, velocity-dispersion proles, and the relation of the central galaxy to global cluster properties. We compute optical mass estimates, which we compare with X-ray mass determinations from the literature. The clusters are in a variety of dynamical states, reflected in the three classes of behavior of the velocity-dispersion pro le in the core: rising, falling, or flat/ambiguous. The velocity dispersion of the emission-line galaxy population significantly exceeds that of the absorption-line galaxies in almost all of the clusters, and the presence of emission-line galaxies at small projected radii suggests continuing infall of galaxies onto the clusters. The presence of a cD galaxy does not constrain the global cluster properties; these clusters are similar to other poor clusters that contain no cD. We use the similarity of the velocity-dispersion profiles at small radii and the cD-like galaxies internal velocity dispersions to argue that cD formation is a local phenomenon. Our sample establishes an empirical observational baseline of poor clusters for comparison with simulations of similar systems.