The structure of the merging RCS 231953+00 Supercluster at z ~ 0.9

TL;DR

This study investigates the structure and subcomponents of the RCS 2319+00 supercluster at z=0.9, revealing its complex filamentary structure, subgroups, and galaxy activity, contributing to understanding supercluster formation.

Contribution

It provides detailed spectroscopic analysis of the supercluster, identifying substructures, filamentary connections, and galaxy activity patterns, which are novel insights into supercluster assembly at this epoch.

Findings

Identified three main clusters with consistent redshifts and velocity dispersions.

Detected a filamentary structure with predominantly blue galaxies.

Estimated group and cluster masses consistent with theoretical models.

Abstract

The RCS 2319+00 supercluster is a massive supercluster at z=0.9 comprising three optically selected, spectroscopically confirmed clusters separated by <3 Mpc on the plane of the sky. This supercluster is one of a few known examples of the progenitors of present-day massive clusters (10^{15} Msun by z~0.5). We present an extensive spectroscopic campaign carried out on the supercluster field resulting, in conjunction with previously published data, in 1961 high confidence galaxy redshifts. We find 302 structure members spanning three distinct redshift walls separated from one another by ~65 Mpc. The component clusters have spectroscopic redshifts of 0.901, 0.905 and 0.905. The velocity dispersions are consistent with those predicted from X-ray data, giving estimated cluster masses of ~10^{14.5} - 10^{14.9} Msun. The Dressler-Shectman test finds evidence of substructure in the supercluster field and a friends-of-friends analysis identified 5 groups in the supercluster, including a filamentary structure stretching between two cluster cores previously identified in the infrared by Coppin et al. (2012). The galaxy colors further show this filamentary structure to be a unique region of activity within the supercluster, comprised mainly of blue galaxies compared to the ~43-77% red-sequence galaxies present in the other groups and cluster cores. Richness estimates from stacked luminosity function fits results in average group mass estimates consistent with ~10^{13} Msun halos. Currently, 22% of our confirmed members reside in >~10^{13} Msun groups/clusters destined to merge onto the most massive cluster, in agreement with the massive halo galaxy fractions important in cluster galaxy pre-processing in N-body simulation merger tree studies.