The Quantity of Intracluster Light: Comparing Theoretical and
  Observational Measurement Techniques Using Simulated Clusters
  Using a suite of N-body simulations of galaxy clusters specifically tailored
to study the intracluster light (ICL) component, we measure the quantity of ICL
using a number of different methods previously employed in the literature for
both observational and simulation data sets. By measuring the ICL of the
clusters using multiple techniques, we identify systematic differences in how
each detection method identifies the ICL. We find that techniques which define
the ICL solely based on the current position of the cluster luminosity, such as
a surface brightness or local density threshold, tend to find less ICL than
methods utilizing time or velocity information, including stellar particles'
density history or binding energy. The range of ICL fractions (the fraction of
the clusters' total luminosity found in the ICL component) we measure at z=0
across all our clusters using any definition span the range from 9-36%, and
even within a single cluster different methods can change the measured ICL
fraction by up to a factor of two. Separating the cluster's central galaxy from
the surrounding ICL component is a challenge for all ICL techniques, and
because the ICL is centrally concentrated within the cluster, the differences
in the measured ICL quantity between techniques are largely a consequence of
this central galaxy/ICL separation. We thoroughly explore the free parameters
involved with each measurement method, and find that adjusting these parameters
can change the measured ICL fraction by up to a factor of two. While for all
definitions the quantity of ICL tends to increase with time, the ICL fraction
does not grow at a uniform rate, nor even monotonically under some definitions.
Thus, the ICL can be used as a rough indicator of dynamical age, where more
dynamically advanced clusters will on average have higher ICL fractions.
