On Dark Peaks and Missing Mass: A Weak Lensing Mass Reconstruction of the Merging Cluster System Abell 520

TL;DR

This study uses weak lensing analysis of Abell 520 to investigate dark matter distribution, finding no evidence of a 'dark core' and supporting the collisionless dark matter model.

Contribution

The paper provides a detailed weak lensing analysis of Abell 520 with new data, challenging previous claims of a dark core and refining constraints on dark matter self-interaction.

Findings

No detection of the previously claimed dark core.

Mass distribution aligns with galaxy luminosity.

Supports collisionless dark matter scenario.

Abstract

Merging clusters of galaxies are unique in their power to directly probe and place limits on the self-interaction cross-section of dark matter. Detailed observations of several merging clusters have shown the intracluster gas to be displaced from the centroids of dark matter and galaxy density by ram pressure, while the latter components are spatially coincident, consistent with collisionless dark matter. This has been used to place upper limits on the dark matter particle self-inteaction cross-section of order 1 cm^2/g. The cluster Abell 520 has been seen as a possible exception. We revisit A520 presenting new HST ACS mosaic images and a Magellan image set. We perform a detailed weak lensing analysis and show that the weak lensing mass measurements and morphologies of the core galaxy-filled structures are mostly in good agreement with previous works. There is however one significant difference -- we do not detect the previously claimed "dark core" that contains excess mass with no significant galaxy overdensity at the location of the X-ray plasma. This peak has been suggested to be indicative of a large self-interaction cross-section for dark matter (at least ~5 sigma larger than the upper limit of 0.7 cm^2/g determined by observations of the Bullet Cluster). We find no such indication and instead find that the mass distribution of A520, after subtraction of the X-ray plasma mass, is in good agreement with the luminosity distribution of the cluster galaxies. We conclude that A520 shows no evidence to contradict the collisionless dark matter scenario.