Dynamics of A3266. I. An Optical View.

This sample, which includes 704 new measurements, was combined with the existing redshifts measurements to generate a sample of over 1300 spectroscopic redshifts; the largest spectroscopic sample in the vicinity of A3266 to date. We define a cluster sub-sample of 790 redshifts which lie within a velocity range of 14000 to 22000km/s and within 1 degree of the cluster centre.

A detailed structural analysis finds A3266 to have a complex dynamical structure containing six groups and filaments to the north of the cluster as well as a cluster core which can be decomposed into two components split along a northeast-southwest axis, consistent with previous X-ray observations. The mean redshift of the cluster core is found to be 0.0594+/-0.0005 and the core velocity dispersion is given as 1462+/-99km/s.