We compare new maps of the hot gas, dark matter, and galaxies for 1E 0657- 56, a cluster with a rare high-velocity merger occurring nearly in the plane of the sky. The X-ray observations reveal a ...bullet-like gas subcluster just exiting the collision site. A prominent bow shock gives an estimate of the subcluster velocity, 4500 km s super(-1), which lies mostly in the plane of the sky. The optical image shows that the gas lags behind the subcluster galaxies. The weak- lensing mass map reveals a dark matter clump lying ahead of the collisional gas bullet but coincident with the effectively collisionless galaxies. From these observations, one can directly estimate the cross section of the dark matter self-interaction. That the dark matter is not fluid-like is seen directly in the X-ray-lensing mass overlay; more quantitative limits can be derived from three simple independent arguments. The most sensitive constraint, capital sigma /m < 1 cm super(2) g super(-1), comes from the consistency of the subcluster mass-to-light ratio with the main cluster (and universal) value, which rules out a significant mass loss due to dark matter particle collisions. This limit excludes most of the 0.5-5 cm super(2) g super(-1) interval proposed to explain the flat mass profiles in galaxies. Our result is only an order-of-magnitude estimate that involves a number of simplifying, but always conservative, assumptions; stronger constraints may be derived using hydrodynamic simulations of this cluster.
We present a dynamical analysis of the merging galaxy cluster system Abell 2146 using spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope. As revealed by the ...Chandra X-ray Observatory, the system is undergoing a major merger and has a gas structure indicative of a recent first core passage. The system presents two large shock fronts, making it unique amongst these rare systems. The hot gas structure indicates that the merger axis must be close to the plane of the sky and that the two merging clusters are relatively close in mass, from the observation of two shock fronts. Using 63 spectroscopically determined cluster members, we apply various statistical tests to establish the presence of two distinct massive structures. With the caveat that the system has recently undergone a major merger, the virial mass estimate is
$M_{\rm vir}= 8.5^{+4.3}_{-4.7} \times 10^{14} \,\mathrm{M}_{{\odot }}$
for the whole system, consistent with the mass determination in a previous study using the Sunyaev–Zel'dovich signal. The newly calculated redshift for the system is z = 0.2323. A two-body dynamical model gives an angle of 13°–19° between the merger axis and the plane of the sky, and a time-scale after first core passage of ≈0.24–0.28 Gyr.
We present the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS), a survey of 20 fields containing distant galaxy clusters with redshifts ranging from 0.4 to almost 1.0. Candidate clusters were chosen from among ...the brightest objects identified in the Las Campanas Distant Cluster Survey, half with estimated redshift zest 6 0.5 and half with zest 6 0.8. They were confirmed by identifying red sequences in moderately deep two colour data from VLT/FORS2. For confirmed candidates we have assembled deep three-band optical photometry using VLT/FORS2, deep near-infrared photometry in one or two bands using NTT/SOFI, deep optical spectroscopy using VLT/FORS2, wide field imaging in two or three bands using the ESO Wide Field Imager, and HST/ACS mosaic images for 10 of the most distant clusters. This first paper presents our sample and the VLT photometry we have obtained. We present images, colour-magnitude diagrams and richness estimates for our clusters, as well as giving redshifts and positions for the brightest cluster members. Subsequent papers will present our infrared photometry, spectroscopy, HST and wide-field imaging, as well as a wealth of further analysis and science results. Our reduced data become publicly available as these papers are accepted.
We study the evolution of spectral early-type galaxies in clusters, groups, and the field up to redshift 0.9 using the ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS) dataset. We measure structural parameters ...(circularized half-luminosity radii Re, surface brightness Ie, and velocity dispersions sigma) for 154 cluster and 68 field galaxies. On average, we achieve precisions of 10% in Re, 0.1 dex in log Ie, and 10% in sigma. We sample 20% of cluster and 10% of field spectral early-type galaxies to an I band magnitude in a 1 arcsec radius aperture as faint as I1 = 22. We study the evolution of the zero point of the fundamental plane (FP) and confirm results in the literature, but now also for the low cluster velocity dispersion regime. Taken at face value, the mass-to-light ratio varies as Delta log M/LB = (-0.54 ± 0.01) z = (-1.61 ± 0.01) log (1+z) in clusters, independent of their velocity dispersion. The evolution is stronger (Delta log M/LB = (-0.76 ± 0.01) z = (-2.27 ± 0.03) log (1+z)) for field galaxies. A somewhat milder evolution is derived if a correction for incompleteness is applied. A rotation in the FP with redshift is detected with low statistical significance. The alpha and beta FP coefficients decrease with redshift, or, equivalently, the FP residuals correlate with galaxy mass and become progressively negative at low masses. The effect is visible at z >= 0.7 for cluster galaxies and at lower redshifts z >= 0.5 for field galaxies. We investigate the size evolution of our galaxy sample. In agreement with previous results, we find that the half-luminosity radius for a galaxy with a dynamical or stellar mass of 2 × 1011 M_ varies as (1+z)-1.0±0.3 for both cluster and field galaxies. At the same time, stellar velocity dispersions grow with redshift, as (1+z)0.59±0.10 at constant dynamical mass, and as (1+z)0.34±0.14 at constant stellar mass. The measured size evolution reduces to Re ∝ (1+z)-0.5±0.2 and sigma ∝ (1+z)0.41±0.08, at fixed dynamical masses, and Re ∝ (1+z)-0.68±0.4 and sigma ∝ (1+z)0.19±0.10, at fixed stellar masses, when the progenitor bias (PB, galaxies that locally are of spectroscopic early-type, but are not very old, disappear progressively from the EDisCS high-redshift sample; often these galaxies happen to be large in size) is taken into account. Taken together, the variations in size and velocity dispersion imply that the luminosity evolution with redshift derived from the zero point of the FP is somewhat milder than that derived without taking these variations into account. When considering dynamical masses, the effects of size and velocity dispersion variations almost cancel out. For stellar masses, the luminosity evolution is reduced to LB ∝ (1+z)1.0 for cluster galaxies and LB ∝ (1+z)1.67 for field galaxies. Using simple stellar population models to translate the observed luminosity evolution into a formation age, we find that massive (>1011 M_ ) cluster galaxies are old (with a formation redshift zf > 1.5) and lower mass galaxies are 3-4 Gyr younger, in agreement with previous EDisCS results from color and line index analyses. This confirms the picture of a progressive build-up of the red sequence in clusters with time. Field galaxies follow the same trend, but are 1 Gyr younger at a given redshift and mass. Taking into account the size and velocity dispersion evolution quoted above pushes all formation ages upwards by 1 to 4 Gyr.
We describe Hubble Space Telescope (HST) imaging of 10 of the 20 ESO Distant Cluster Survey (EDisCS) fields. Each similar to 40 arcmin super(2) field was imaged in the F814W filter with the Advanced ...Camera for Surveys Wide Field Camera. Based on these data, we present visual morphological classifications for the similar to 920 sources per field that are brighter than l sub(auto)= 23 mag. We use these classifications to quantify the morphological content of 10 intermediate-redshift (0.5 < z < 0.8) galaxy clusters within the HST survey region. The EDisCS results, combined with previously published data from seven higher redshift clusters, show no statistically significant evidence for evolution in the mean fractions of elliptical, S0, and late-type (Sp+Irr) galaxies in clusters over the redshift range 0.5 < z < 1.2. In contrast, existing studies of lower redshift clusters have revealed a factor of similar to 2 increase in the typical S0 fraction between z = 0.4 and 0, accompanied by a commensurate decrease in the Sp+Irr fraction and no evolution in the elliptical fraction. The EDisCS clusters demonstrate that cluster morphological fractions plateau beyond z approximately 0.4. They also exhibit a mild correlation between morphological content and cluster velocity dispersion, highlighting the importance of careful sample selection in evaluating evolution. We discuss these findings in the context of a recently proposed scenario in which the fractions of passive (E, S0) and star-forming (Sp, Irr) galaxies are determined primarily by the growth history of clusters.
ABSTRACT
In the context of the Beyond Ultradeep Frontier Fields And Legacy Observations (BUFFALO) survey, we present a new analysis of the merging galaxy cluster MACS J0416.1−2403 (z = 0.397) and its ...parallel field using Hubble Frontier Fields (HFF) data. We measure the surface mass density from a weak-lensing analysis and characterize the overall matter distribution in both the cluster and parallel fields. The surface mass distribution derived for the parallel field shows clumpy overdensities connected by filament-like structures elongated in the direction of the cluster core. We also characterize the X-ray emission in the parallel field and compare it with the lensing mass distribution. We identify five mass peaks at the >5σ level over the two fields, four of them being in the cluster one. Three of them are located close to galaxy overdensities and one is also close to an excess in the X-ray emission. Nevertheless, two of them have neither optical nor X-ray counterpart and are located close to the edges of the field of view, thus further studies are needed to confirm them as substructures. Finally, we compare our results with the predicted subhalo distribution of one of the Hydrangea/C-EAGLE simulated cluster. Significant differences are obtained suggesting the simulated cluster is at a more advanced evolutionary stage than MACS J0416.1−2403. Our results anticipate the upcoming BUFFALO observations that will link the two HFF fields, extending further the HST coverage.
We present spectroscopic observations of galaxies in 4 clusters at z = 0.7-0.8 and in one cluster at z similar to 0.5 obtained with the FORS2 spectrograph on the VLT as part of the ESO Distant ...Cluster Survey (EDisCS), a photometric and spectroscopic survey of 20 intermediate to high redshift clusters. We describe our target selection, mask design, observation and data reduction procedures, using these first 5 clusters to demonstrate how our strategies maximise the number of cluster members for which we obtain spectroscopy. We present catalogues containing positions, I-band magnitudes and spectroscopic redshifts for galaxies in the fields of our 5 clusters. These contain 236 cluster members, with the number of members per cluster ranging from 30 to 67. Our spectroscopic success rate, i.e. the fraction of spectroscopic targets which are cluster members, averages 50% and ranges from 30% to 75%. We use a robust biweight estimator to measure cluster velocity dispersions from our spectroscopic redshift samples. We also make a first assessment of substructure within our clusters. The velocity dispersions range from 400 to 1100 km s super(-1). Some of the redshift distributions are significantly non-Gaussian and we find evidence for significant substructure in two clusters, one at z similar to 0.79 and the other at z similar to 0.54. Both have velocity dispersions exceeding 1000 km s super(-1) but are clearly not fully virialised; their velocity dispersions may thus be a poor indicator of their masses. The properties of these first 5 EDisCS clusters span a wide range in redshift, velocity dispersion, richness and substructure, but are representative of the sample as a whole. Spectroscopy for the full dataset will allow a comprehensive study of galaxy evolution as a function of cluster environment and redshift.
Here we present the weak-lensing results for A1758, which is known to consist of four subclusters undergoing two separate mergers, A1758N and A1758S. Weak-lensing results for A1758N agree with ...previous weak-lensing results for clusters 1E0657-558 (Bullet cluster) and MACS J0025.4-1222, whose X-ray gas components were found to be largely separated from their clusters' gravitational potentials. A1758N has a geometry that is different from previously published mergers in that one of its X-ray peaks overlays the corresponding gravitational potential and the other X-ray peak is well separated from its cluster's gravitational potential. The weak-lensing mass peaks of the two northern clusters are separated at the 2.5sigma level. We estimate the combined mass of the clusters in A1758N to be (2.2 + or - 0.5) x 10 super(15) M sub(sm circle in circle) and r sub(200) = 2300 sub(-130) super(+100) kpc. We also detect seven strong-lensing candidates, two of which may provide information that would improve the mass measurements of A1758N.
Context. The DAFT/FADA survey is based on the study of ~90 rich (masses found in the literature >2 × 1014 M⊙) and moderately distant clusters (redshifts 0.4 < z < 0.9), all with HST imaging data ...available. This survey has two main objectives: to constrain dark energy (DE) using weak lensing tomography on galaxy clusters and to build a database (deep multi-band imaging allowing photometric redshift estimates, spectroscopic data, X-ray data) of rich distant clusters to study their properties. Aims. We analyse the structures of all the clusters in the DAFT/FADA survey for which XMM-Newton and/or a sufficient number of galaxy redshifts in the cluster range are available, with the aim of detecting substructures and evidence for merging events. These properties are discussed in the framework of standard cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology. Methods. In X-rays, we analysed the XMM-Newton data available, fit a β-model, and subtracted it to identify residuals. We used Chandra data, when available, to identify point sources. In the optical, we applied a Serna & Gerbal (SG) analysis to clusters with at least 15 spectroscopic galaxy redshifts available in the cluster range. We discuss the substructure detection efficiencies of both methods. Results. XMM-Newton data were available for 32 clusters, for which we derive the X-ray luminosity and a global X-ray temperature for 25 of them. For 23 clusters we were able to fit the X-ray emissivity with a β-model and subtract it to detect substructures in the X-ray gas. A dynamical analysis based on the SG method was applied to the clusters having at least 15 spectroscopic galaxy redshifts in the cluster range: 18 X-ray clusters and 11 clusters with no X-ray data. The choice of a minimum number of 15 redshifts implies that only major substructures will be detected. Ten substructures were detected both in X-rays and by the SG method. Most of the substructures detected both in X-rays and with the SG method are probably at their first cluster pericentre approach and are relatively recent infalls. We also find hints of a decreasing X-ray gas density profile core radius with redshift. Conclusions. The percentage of mass included in substructures was found to be roughly constant with redshift values of 5–15%, in agreement both with the general CDM framework and with the results of numerical simulations. Galaxies in substructures show the same general behaviour as regular cluster galaxies; however, in substructures, there is a deficiency of both late type and old stellar population galaxies. Late type galaxies with recent bursts of star formation seem to be missing in the substructures close to the bottom of the host cluster potential well. However, our sample would need to be increased to allow a more robust analysis.
We study how the proportion of star-forming galaxies evolves between z = 0.8 and 0 as a function of galaxy environment, using the OII line in emission as a signature of ongoing star formation. Our ...high-z data set comprises 16 clusters, 10 groups, and another 250 galaxies in poorer groups and the field at z = 0.4-0.8 from the ESO Distant Cluster Survey, plus another 9 massive clusters at similar redshifts. As a local comparison, we use galaxy systems selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) at 0.04 < z < 0.08. At high z most systems follow a broad anticorrelation between the fraction of star-forming galaxies and the system velocity dispersion. At face value, this suggests that at z = 0.4-0.8 the mass of the system largely determines the proportion of galaxies with ongoing star formation. At these redshifts the strength of star formation (as measured by the O II equivalent width) in star-forming galaxies is also found to vary systematically with environment. SDSS clusters have much lower fractions of star-forming galaxies than clusters at z = 0.4-0.8 and, in contrast with the distant clusters, show a plateau for velocity dispersions .550 km s super(-1), where the fraction of galaxies with O II emission does not vary systematically with velocity dispersion. We quantify the evolution of the proportion of star-forming galaxies as a function of the system velocity dispersion and find that it is strongest in intermediate-mass systems (s 6 500-600 km s super(-1) at z = 0). To understand the origin of the observed trends, we use the Press-Schechter formalism and the Millennium Simulation and show that galaxy star formation histories may be closely related to the growth history of clusters and groups. If the scenario we propose is roughly correct, the link between galaxy properties and environment is extremely simple to predict purely from a knowledge of the growth of dark matter structures.
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