The eventful life journey of galaxy clusters. II. Impact of mass accretion on the thermodynamical structure of the ICM

TL;DR

This study uses hydrodynamical simulations to show that recent mass accretion significantly influences the thermodynamic profiles of galaxy clusters' intracluster medium, revealing insights into their formation history.

Contribution

It demonstrates how recent accretion impacts ICM density and thermodynamic profiles, linking observable features to cluster assembly history.

Findings

Recent accretion lowers central gas densities.

Pressure and entropy profiles are strongly affected by accretion.

Radial features shift inward with higher accretion rates.

Abstract

Context. The internal structure of the intracluster medium (ICM) is tightly linked to the assembly history and physical processes in groups and clusters, but the role of recent accretion in shaping these profiles has not been fully explored. Aims. We investigate to what extent mass accretion accounts for the variability in ICM density and thermodynamic profiles, and what can present-day structures reveal about their formation histories. Methods. We analyze a hydrodynamical cosmological simulation including gas cooling but no feedback, to isolate the effects of heating from structure formation. Median profiles of ICM quantities are introduced as a robust description of the bulk ICM. We then examine correlations between mass accretion rates or assembly indicators with the profiles of temperature, entropy, pressure, gas and dark-matter density, as well as their scatter. Results. Accretion in the last dynamical time strongly lowers central gas densities, while leaving dark matter largely unaffected, producing a distinct signature in the baryon depletion function. Pressure and entropy show the clearest dependence on accretion, whereas temperature is less sensitive. The radii of steepest entropy, temperature, and pressure shift inward by $\sim (10-20)\%$ between high- and low-accretion subsamples. Assembly-state indicators are also related to the location of these features, and accretion correlates with the parameters of common fitting functions for density, pressure, and entropy. Conclusions. Recent accretion leaves measurable imprints on the ICM structure, highlighting the potential of thermodynamic profiles as diagnostics of cluster growth history.