Constraining galaxy cluster temperatures and redshifts with eROSITA survey data

TL;DR

This paper predicts how well the eROSITA X-ray survey will measure galaxy cluster temperatures and redshifts, enabling improved cosmological constraints through a large, precisely characterized cluster sample.

Contribution

It provides detailed estimates of eROSITA's capabilities to determine cluster properties and quantifies the expected increase in precisely measured clusters for cosmological studies.

Findings

eROSITA will measure cluster temperatures with <10% uncertainty up to z~0.16

Redshift will be determined with <10% accuracy up to z~0.45

Number of clusters with precise properties will increase 5-10 times

Abstract

The nature of dark energy is imprinted in the large-scale structure of the Universe and thus in the mass and redshift distribution of galaxy clusters. The upcoming eROSITA mission will exploit this method of probing dark energy by detecting roughly 100,000 clusters of galaxies in X-rays. For a precise cosmological analysis the various galaxy cluster properties need to be measured with high precision and accuracy. To predict these characteristics of eROSITA galaxy clusters and to optimise optical follow-up observations, we estimate the precision and the accuracy with which eROSITA will be able to determine galaxy cluster temperatures and redshifts from X-ray spectra. Additionally, we present the total number of clusters for which these two properties will be available from the eROSITA survey directly. During its four years of all-sky surveys, eROSITA will determine cluster temperatures with relative uncertainties of Delta(T)/T<10% at the 68%-confidence level for clusters up to redshifts of z~0.16 which corresponds to ~1,670 new clusters with precise properties. Redshift information itself will become available with a precision of Delta(z)/(1+z)<10% for clusters up to z~0.45. Additionally, we estimate how the number of clusters with precise properties increases with a deepening of the exposure. Furthermore, the biases in the best-fit temperatures as well as in the estimated uncertainties are quantified and shown to be negligible in the relevant parameter range in general. For the remaining parameter sets, we provide correction functions and factors. The eROSITA survey will increase the number of galaxy clusters with precise temperature measurements by a factor of 5-10. Thus the instrument presents itself as a powerful tool for the determination of tight constraints on the cosmological parameters.