  Low-surface-brightness galaxies (LSBs) contribute to a significant fraction
of all the galaxies in the Universe. Ultra-diffuse galaxies (UDGs) form a
subclass of LSBs that has attracted a lot of attention in recent years
(although its definition may vary between studies). Although UDGs are found in
large numbers in galaxy clusters, groups, and in the field, their formation and
evolution are still very much debated. Using a comprehensive set of
multiwavelength data from the NGVS (optical), VESTIGE (H$\alpha$ narrowband),
and GUViCS (UV) surveys, we studied a sample of 64 diffuse galaxies and UDGs in
the Virgo cluster to investigate their formation history. We analyzed the
photometric colors and surface-brightness profiles of these galaxies and then
compared them to models of galaxy evolution, including ram-pressure stripping
(RPS) events to infer any possible strong interactions with the hot cluster gas
in the past. While our sample consists mainly of red LSBs, which is typical in
cluster environments, we found evidence of a color variation with the
cluster-centric distance. Blue, HI-bearing, star-forming diffuse galaxies are
found at larger distances from the cluster center than the rest of the sample.
The comparison of our models with multifrequency observations suggests that
most of the galaxies of the sample might have undergone a strong RPS event in
their lifetime, on average 1.6 Gyr ago (with a large dispersion, and RPS still
ongoing for some of them). This process resulted in the transformation of
initially gas-rich diffuse blue galaxies into gas-poor and red ones that form
the dominant population now, the more extreme UDGs having undergone the process
in a more distant past on average. The RPS in dense environments could be one
of the major mechanisms for the formation of the large number of quiescent UDGs
we observe in galaxy clusters.
