Intracluster Stellar Population

Abstract

I shall review the latest results for the presence of diffuse light in nearby clusters, and the evidence of ongoing star formation in an intracluster Virgo field. I shall discuss how intracluster planetary nebulae can be used as excellent tracers of the diffuse stellar population in nearby clusters. Their number density distribution, density profile and radial velocity distribution provide observational constraints to models for cluster formation and evolution. The preliminary comparison of the avaliable ICPN samples with high resolution N-body models of a Virgo-like cluster in a Lambda CDM cosmology supports ``harassment'' as the most likely mechanism for the origin of diffuse stellar light in clusters.