Large-scale Structure and Dynamics of the Most X-ray Luminous Galaxy Cluster Known -- RX J1347-1145

TL;DR

This study combines spectroscopic, photometric, and weak lensing data to analyze the large-scale structure and dynamics of the highly luminous galaxy cluster RX J1347-1145, providing consistent mass estimates and revealing a potential connecting filament.

Contribution

It offers a comprehensive multi-method analysis of RX J1347-1145, confirming its mass through independent techniques and identifying a neighboring cluster and possible filamentary structure.

Findings

Dynamical mass estimate of RX J1347-1145 is ~1.16x10^{15} solar masses.

Weak lensing mass estimate agrees with dynamical and X-ray results.

Detected and confirmed a neighboring massive cluster, RXJ1347-SW, and identified potential filamentary connection.

Abstract

We present photometric, spectroscopic and weak lensing analysis of the large-scale structure and dynamics of the most X-ray luminous galaxy cluster known, RX J1347-1145, at z=0.451. We spectroscopically confirmed 47 new members with LDSS3 on the Magellan telescope. Together with previously known members, we measure a new velocity dispersion of 1163(+/-97) km/s. The mass inferred from our velocity dispersion is M200 = 1.16^{+0.32}_{-0.27}x10^{15} solar mass, with r200=1.85Mpc, under the assumption of a singular isothermal sphere. We also present a weak lensing analysis using deep CFHT data on this cluster, and find a deprojected mass of 1.47^{+0.46}_{-0.43}x10^{15} solar mass within r200, in excellent agreement with our dynamical estimate. Thus, our new dynamical mass estimate is consistent with that from weak lensing and X-ray studies in the literature, resolving a previously claimed discrepancy. We photometrically detect and spectroscopically confirm another massive cluster with sigma=780(+/-100) km/s and M200=3.4^{+1.4}_{-1.1}x10^{14} solar mass ~7Mpc south-west of RX J1347-1145, which we refer to as RXJ1347-SW. Our spectroscopic survey reveals a possible excess of galaxies in velocity space in the region between RX J1347-1145 and RXJ1347-SW; comparing with simulations, this excess appears consistent with that expected from a large filamentary structure traced by galaxies connecting these two clusters.