A Lensing Survey of X-ray Luminous Galaxy Clusters at Redshift z ~ 0.2: II: CFH12k Weak Lensing Analysis and Global Correlations

TL;DR

This study conducts a weak lensing analysis of eleven X-ray luminous galaxy clusters at z ~ 0.2, measuring their mass distributions and exploring correlations with optical and X-ray properties to understand cluster dynamics.

Contribution

It provides the first wide-field weak lensing survey of a homogeneous cluster sample at this redshift, applying advanced Bayesian shape fitting methods to derive mass profiles and scaling relations.

Findings

Mass-to-light ratio increases with luminosity.

X-ray luminosity scales as M_200^{0.83 +/- 0.11}.

Normalization of M_200-T_X relation aligns with simulations.

Abstract

Aims: We present a wide-field multi-color survey of a homogeneous sample of eleven clusters of galaxies for which we measure total masses and mass distributions from weak lensing. Methods: The eleven clusters in our sample are all X-ray luminous and span a narrow redshift range at z=0.21 +/- 0.04. The weak lensing analysis of the sample is based on ground-based wide-field imaging obtained with the CFH12k camera on CFHT. We use the methodology developed and applied previously on the massive cluster Abell 1689. A Bayesian method, implemented in the Im2shape software, is used to fit the shape parameters of the faint background galaxies and to correct for PSF smearing. With the present data, shear profiles are measured in all clusters out to at least 2 Mpc (more than 15arcmin from the center) with high confidence. The radial shear profiles are fitted with different parametric mass profiles and the virial mass M_200 is estimated for each cluster and then compared to other physical properties. Results: Scaling relations between mass and optical luminosity indicate an increase of the M/L ratio with luminosity and a L_X-M_200 relation scaling as L_X \propto M_200^(0.83 +/- 0.11) while the normalization of the M_200 \propto T_X^{3/2} relation is close to the one expected from hydrodynamical simulations of cluster formation as well as previous X-ray analyses. We suggest that the dispersion in the M_200-T_X and M_200-L_X relations reflects the different merging and dynamical histories for clusters of similar X-ray luminosities and intrinsic variations in their measured masses. Improved statistics of clusters over a wider mass range are required for a better control of the intrinsic scatter in scaling relations.