LoCuSS: Subaru Weak Lensing Study of 30 Galaxy Clusters

TL;DR

This study uses Subaru weak lensing data to analyze dark matter distribution in 30 galaxy clusters, fitting models, exploring mass-concentration relations, and comparing measurement methods to improve understanding of cluster mass profiles.

Contribution

First detailed weak-lensing analysis of 30 galaxy clusters at 0.15<z<0.3, including model fitting, mass-concentration relation, and comparison of mass measurement techniques.

Findings

SIS model rejected when stacking profiles.

Detected anti-correlation between concentration and mass.

Systematic difference between 2D and 3D mass estimates.

Abstract

(Abridged) We use Subaru data to conduct a detailed weak-lensing study of the dark matter distribution in a sample of 30 X-ray luminous galaxy clusters at 0.15<z<0.3. A weak-lensing signal is detected at high statistical significance in each cluster, the total detection S/N ranging from 5 to 13. In this paper we concentrate on fitting spherical models to the tangential distortion profiles of the clusters. When the models are fitted to the clusters individually, we are unable to discriminate statistically between SIS and NFW models. However when the tangential distortion profiles of the individual clusters are combined, and models fitted to the stacked profile, the SIS model is rejected at 6- and 11-sigma, respectively, for low- and high-mass bins. We also use the individual cluster NFW model fits to investigate the relationship between cluster mass (M_vir) and concentration (c_vir), finding an anti-correlation of c_vir and M_vir. The best-fit c_vir-M_vir relation is: c_vir(M_vir) propto M_vir^{-alpha} with alpha=0.41+/-0.19 -- i.e. a non-zero slope is detected at 2sigma significance. We then investigate the optimal radius within which to measure cluster mass, finding that the typical fractional errors are improved to sigma(M_Delta)/M_Delta ~ 0.1-0.2 for cluster masses at higher over-densities Delta=500-2000, from 0.2-0.3 for the virial over-density (~110). Further comparisons between mass measurements based on spherical model fitting and the model-independent aperture mass method reveal that the 2D aperture mass enclosed within a cylinder of a given aperture radius is systematically greater than the 3D spherical mass obtained from NFW model fitting: M_2D/M_3D= 1.34 and 1.40 for Delta=500 and 110, respectively. The amplitude of this effect agrees well with that predicted by integrating the NFW model along the line-of-sight.