Chemical effects on the development of the colour-magnitude relation of
  cluster galaxies
  We investigate the development of the colour-magnitude re- lation (CMR) of
cluster galaxies. This study is carried out using a semi- analytic model of
galaxy formation and evolution coupled to a sample of simulated galaxy clusters
of different masses, reinforcing the conclusions reached by Jim\'enez et al.
(2009). We compare both simulated and obeserved CMRs in different
colour-magnitude planes, finding a very good agreement in all cases. This
indicates that model parameters are correctly tuned, giving accurate values of
the main properties of galaxies for further use in our study. In the present
work, we perform a statistical analysis of the relative contribution to the
stellar mass and metallicity of galaxies along the CMR by the different
processes involved in their formation and evolution (i.e. quiescent star
formation, disc instability events and galaxy mergers). Our results show that a
mix of minor and major dry mergers at low redshifts is relevant in the
evolution of the most luminous galaxies in the CMR. These processes contribute
with low metallicity stars to the remnant galaxies, thus increasing the galaxy
masses without significantly altering their colours. These results are found
for all simulated clusters, supporting the idea of the universality of the CMR
in agreement with observational results.
