The velocity structure of the intracluster medium during a major merger: simulated microcalorimeter observations

TL;DR

This study uses hydrodynamical simulations to explore how upcoming high-resolution X-ray and SZ observations can measure gas velocities, temperatures, and shock features in merging galaxy clusters, revealing complex line shapes and the potential for detailed ICM diagnostics.

Contribution

It demonstrates the feasibility of using simulated X-ray spectra from future calorimeters to measure ICM velocities and temperatures during cluster mergers, accounting for non-Gaussian line shapes and observational constraints.

Findings

Velocity dispersion can be retrieved with XRISM Resolve for bright regions.

Athena X-IFU can measure gas properties in faint regions due to larger collecting area.

Simulated SZ images show potential for future observatories like CMB-S4 and AtLAST.

Abstract

Major mergers between galaxy clusters can produce large turbulent and bulk flow velocities in the intra-cluster medium and thus imprint diagnostic features in X-ray spectral emission lines from heavy ions. As demonstrated by Hitomi in observations of the Perseus cluster, measurements of gas velocities in clusters from high-resolution X-ray spectra will be achievable with upcoming X-ray calorimeters like those on board XRISM, Athena, or a Lynx like mission. We investigate this possibility for interesting locations across a major cluster merger from a hydrodynamical simulation, via X-ray synthetic spectra with a few eV energy resolution. We observe the system from directions perpendicular to the plane of the merger and along the merger axis. In these extreme geometrical configurations, we find clear non-Gaussian shapes of the iron He-like K_alpha line at 6.7keV. The velocity dispersion predicted from the simulations can be retrieved for the brightest 100ks pointings with XRISM Resolve, despite some discrepancy related to the complex non-Gaussian line shapes. Measurements in faint regions require however high S/N and the larger collecting area of the Athena X-IFU calorimeter is thus needed. With the latter, we also investigate the gas temperature and velocity gradient across the merger bow shock edge, from 20"-wide annuli extracted from a single 1Ms X-IFU pointing. We find best-fit temperature and velocity dispersion values that are consistent with predictions from the simulations within 1-sigma, but the uncertainties on the inferred velocity dispersion are too large to place any stringent constraints on the shallow gradient downstream of the shock. We also present simulated images of the thermal and kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich effects, using the above viewing configurations, and compare the results at angular resolutions appropriate for future observatories such as CMB-S4 and AtLAST.