A New Look at Massive Clusters: weak lensing constraints on the triaxial dark matter halos of Abell 1689, Abell 1835, & Abell 2204

TL;DR

This study employs a novel triaxial modeling approach using weak lensing data to better understand the 3D mass distribution of galaxy clusters, testing predictions of the LCDM model and highlighting the importance of multi-observational constraints.

Contribution

It introduces a Markov Chain Monte Carlo method for fitting fully triaxial models to weak lensing data, improving parameter estimates and uncertainty quantification for galaxy cluster mass profiles.

Findings

Marginally consistent mass and concentration for Abell 1689 with LCDM predictions.

Large error contours highlight the need for combining multiple observational constraints.

Triaxial modeling provides more realistic uncertainty estimates than spherical models.

Abstract

Measuring the 3D distribution of mass on galaxy cluster scales is a crucial test of the LCDM model, providing constraints on the nature of dark matter. Recent work investigating mass distributions of individual galaxy clusters (e.g. Abell 1689) using weak and strong gravitational lensing has revealed potential inconsistencies between the predictions of structure formation models relating halo mass to concentration and those relationships as measured in massive clusters. However, such analyses employ simple spherical halo models while a growing body of work indicates that triaxial 3D halo structure is both common and important in parameter estimates. We recently introduced a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method to fit fully triaxial models to weak lensing data that gives parameter and error estimates that fully incorporate the true shape uncertainty present in nature. In this paper we apply that method to weak lensing data obtained with the ESO/MPG Wide-Field Imager for galaxy clusters A1689, A1835, and A2204, under a range of Bayesian priors derived from theory and from independent X-ray and strong lensing observations. For Abell 1689, using a simple strong lensing prior we find marginalized mean parameter values M_200 = (0.83 +- 0.16)x10^15 M_solar/h and C=12.2 +- 6.7, which are marginally consistent with the mass-concentration relation predicted in LCDM. The large error contours that accompany our triaxial parameter estimates more accurately represent the true extent of our limited knowledge of the structure of galaxy cluster lenses, and make clear the importance of combining many constraints from other theoretical, lensing (strong, flexion), or other observational (X-ray, SZ, dynamical) data to confidently measure cluster mass profiles. (Abridged)