Gas and galaxies in filament between clusters of galaxies: The study of A399-A401

TL;DR

This study uses multi-wavelength data to analyze gas and galaxy properties in the filament between galaxy clusters A399-A401, revealing a pre-merger system with passive galaxies and heated filament gas, and compares it with a less-constrained second system.

Contribution

First combined tSZ, optical, and IR analysis of galaxy filaments between clusters, providing detailed gas and galaxy property measurements and insights into their formation stages.

Findings

Gas density in A399-A401 filament estimated at 4.3x10^-4 cm^-3.

Galaxies in A399-A401 are passive, early-type, and show no segregation.

A399-A401 system is a pre-merger with heated filament gas.

Abstract

We have performed a multi-wavelength analysis of two galaxy cluster systems selected with the thermal Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (tSZ) effect and composed of cluster pairs and an inter-cluster filament. We have focused on one pair of particular interest: A399-A401 at redshift z~0.073 seperated by 3 Mpc. We have also performed the first analysis of one lower significance newly associated pair: A21-PSZ2 G114.09-34.34 at z~0.094, separated by 4.2 Mpc. We have characterised the intra-cluster gas using the tSZ signal from Planck and, when this was possible, the galaxy optical and infra-red (IR) properties based on two photometric redshift catalogs: 2MPZ and WISExSCOS. From the tSZ data, we measured the gas pressure in the clusters and in the inter-cluster filaments. In the case of A399-A401, the results are in perfect agreement with previous studies and, using the temperature measured from the X-rays, we further estimate the gas density in the filament and find n0=4.3+-0.7x10^-4 cm-3. The optical and IR colour-colour and colour-magnitude analyses of the galaxies selected in the cluster system, together with their Star Formation Rate, show no segregation between galaxy populations, in the clusters and in the filament of A399-A401. Galaxies are all passive, early type, and red and dead. The gas and galaxy properties of this system suggest that the whole system formed at the same time and corresponds to a pre-merger, with a cosmic filament gas heated by the collapse. For the other cluster system, the tSZ analysis was performed and the pressure in the clusters and in the inter-cluster filament was constrained. However, the limited or nonexistent optical and IR data prevent us from concluding on the presence of an actual cosmic filament or from proposing a scenario.