Does the Corona Borealis Supercluster form a giant binary-like system?

TL;DR

This study maps gravitational potentials in the Corona Borealis region, revealing a possible giant binary-like supercluster system connected by filaments, though unlikely to be gravitationally bound.

Contribution

It introduces a gravitational potential mapping approach to analyze supercluster interactions, suggesting a binary-like structure in the Corona Borealis region.

Findings

Deep potential wells correspond to major superclusters.

Potential contours suggest a binary-like supercluster system.

Unlikely to be gravitationally bound.

Abstract

The distribution of local gravitational potentials generated by a complete volume-limited sample of galaxy groups and clusters filling the Corona Borealis region has been derived to search for new gravitational hints in the context of clus-tering analysis unrevealed by alternative methodologies. Mapping such a distribution as a function of spatial positions, the deepest potential wells in the sample trace unambiguously the locations of the densest galaxy cluster clumps providing the physical keys to bring out gravitational features connected to the formation, composition and evolution of the major clustered structures filling that region. As expected, the three deepest potential wells found at Equatorial coordinates: (~ 230{\deg}, ~ 28{\deg}, z ~ 0.075), (~ 240{\deg}, ~ 27{\deg}, z ~ 0.09) and, (227{\deg}, 5.8{\deg}, z ~ 0.0788) correspond to massive superclusters of galaxy groups and clusters identified as the Corona Borealis, A2142 and Virgo-Serpent, respectively. However, the deepest isopotential contours around the Corona Borealis and A2142 superclusters seem to suggest a gravitational feature similar to a giant binary-like system connected by a filamentary structure. To a first approximation, it seems unlikely that this hypothesized system could be gravitationally bound.