Signatures of large-scale cold fronts in the optically-selected merging cluster HSC J085024+001536

TL;DR

This study combines X-ray, weak-lensing, and optical data to analyze a merging galaxy cluster, revealing cold fronts, gas stripping, and merger dynamics, providing insights into cluster merger physics.

Contribution

It presents a detailed multi-wavelength analysis of the merging cluster HSC J085024+001536, highlighting cold-front features and merger stage, which is novel for optically-selected clusters.

Findings

Detection of cold-front features indicating gas contact regions.

Identification of gas stripping in the subcluster.

Evidence of a non-zero impact parameter in the merger.

Abstract

We represent a joint X-ray, weak-lensing, and optical analysis of the optically-selected merging cluster, HSC J085024+001536, from the Subaru HSC-SSP survey. Both the member galaxy density and the weak-lensing mass map show that the cluster is composed of southeast and northwest components. The two-dimensional weak-lensing analysis shows that the southeast component is the main cluster, and the sub- and main-cluster mass ratio is $0.32^{+0.75}_{-0.23}$. The northwest subcluster is offset by $\sim700$ kpc from the main cluster center, and their relative line-of-sight velocity is $\sim1300\,{\rm km s^{-1}}$ from spectroscopic redshifts of member galaxies. The X-ray emission is concentrated around the main cluster, while the gas mass fraction within a sphere of $1'$ radius of the subcluster is only $f_{\mathrm{gas}}=4.0^{+2.3}_{-3.3}\%$, indicating that the subcluster gas was stripped by ram pressure. X-ray residual image shows three arc-like excess patterns, of which two are symmetrically located at $\sim550$ kpc from the X-ray morphological center, and the other is close to the X-ray core. The excess close to the subcluster has a cold-front feature where dense-cold gas and thin-hot gas contact. The two outer excesses are tangentially elongated about $\sim 450-650$ kpc, suggesting that the cluster is merged with a non-zero impact parameter. Overall features revealed by the multi-wavelength datasets indicate that the cluster is at the second impact or later. Since the optically-defined merger catalog is unbiased for merger boost of the intracluster medium, X-ray follow-up observations will pave the way to understand merger physics at various phases.