The Search for a Shock in the Merging Galaxy Cluster PLCKSZ G200.9-28.2

Galaxy clusters are the largest virialized structures in the universe, consisting of hundreds to thousands of galaxies bound together by gravity, with the bulk of baryonic matter contained within the hot plasma diffused between the galaxies, known as the Intra-cluster Medium. These enormous structures are able to grow in size by merging together via violent collisions, arguably the most energetic events since the Big Bang. Mergers heat the tenuous gas by turbulence and shock fronts driven by the dark matter. Shocks are difficult to study directly due to their intrinsically low Mach numbers, and as such are rare events to observe. However, key features such as radio relics produced by synchrotron-emitting relativistic electrons, temperature variations, and surface brightness discontinuities often coincide with their location. PLCKSZ G200.9-28.2 is a merging cluster, discovered by the Planck satellite with the Sunyaev-Ze'ldovich effect, and seen to have a radio relic in the outskirts. We present new, deep observations of this cluster with the Chandra X-ray observatory, including temperature maps and surface brightness profiles to better understand the nature of the merger and the presence of a shock front.