I. Analysis of candidates for interacting galaxy clusters

TL;DR

This paper presents a weak lensing and dynamical analysis of two galaxy cluster candidates to understand their mass distribution and interaction status, contributing to the broader study of merging galaxy clusters and dark matter properties.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed weak lensing and dynamical analysis of two galaxy cluster candidates, establishing a methodology for future studies of merging systems.

Findings

Neither cluster shows evidence of recent mergers.

Dynamical analysis suggests potential future interactions.

Mass and gas distributions are characterized through lensing and X-ray data.

Abstract

Merging galaxy clusters allows to study the different mass components, dark and baryonic, separately. Also their occurrence enables to test the $\Lambda$CDM scenario and they could put constrains in the self interacting cross section of the dark matter particle. It is necessary to perform an homogeneous analysis of these systems. Hence, based in a recently presented sample of candidates for interacting galaxy clusters, we present the analysis of two of these cataloged systems. In this work, the first of a serie devoted to characterize galaxy clusters in merger process, we perform a weak lensing analysis of A1204 and A2029/2033 clusters to derive the total masses of each identified interacting structures together with a dynamical study based on a two-body model. We also describe the gas and the mass distributions in the field through a lensing and an X-ray analysis. This is the first of a series of works which will analyze these type of systems to characterize them. Both merging clusters candidates do not show evidence of having had a recent merger event. Nevertheless, there is dynamical evidence that these systems could be interacting or could interact in the future. It is necessary to include more constrains in order to improve the methodology to classify merging galaxy clusters. Characterization of these clusters is important in order to understand in deep the nature of these systems and their connection with dynamical studies.