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A multiwavelength approach to constraining the Merger Properties of ACT-CL J0034.4+0225

POSTER

Abstract

ACT-CL J0034.4+0225 is a massive galaxy cluster in an intriguing dynamical state, that is detected at high significance by the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT). We obtain multiwavelength data from \textit{Chandra}, SALT, \textit{DES}, and \textit{Hubble}. Several mass proxies from the \textit{Chandra} data yield a total mass within the range $M_{500} = 5-8\times 10^{14} M_\odot$, which is generally consistent with the literature. The X-ray image shows two clear surface brightness peaks, each associated with a bright cluster galaxy (BCG). We determine the projected distance between the peaks and the velocity difference between the BCGs. These measurements are constraints for comparing ACT-CL J0034.4+0225 with N-body/hydrodynamic galaxy cluster merger simulations. The constraints restrict the suite of simulations to those within 1.4 Gyr of first pericenter, while the mass ratio and merger impact parameter remain largely unconstrained. We additionally perform a strong lensing analysis with the \textit{Hubble} data and simulations, leading to a favored mass ratio of 3:1 also near pericenter. Deeper \textit{Chandra} observations, multicolor HST observations, and new simulations would produce better constraints on the properties of this interesting merger.

Authors

  • Peter Doze

    Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

  • John P Hughes

    Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Rutgers- The State University of New Jersey

  • Blakesley Burkhart

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, None, University of Colorado Boulder, Virginia Tech, MIT Haystack Observatory, University of Alabama, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Rutgers University, Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, New Jersey Inst of Tech, Flatiron Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Los Alamos National Laboratory, The College of William \& Mary, Cornell University, Cornell University, California Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Tech, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Princeton University, University of Pittsburgh, DEVCOM Army Research Lab, University of Louisville, University of Cape Town, Rutgers University/Flatiron Institute, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

  • Blakesley Burkhart

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, None, University of Colorado Boulder, Virginia Tech, MIT Haystack Observatory, University of Alabama, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Rutgers University, Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, New Jersey Inst of Tech, Flatiron Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Los Alamos National Laboratory, The College of William \& Mary, Cornell University, Cornell University, California Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Tech, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Princeton University, University of Pittsburgh, DEVCOM Army Research Lab, University of Louisville, University of Cape Town, Rutgers University/Flatiron Institute, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey

  • Blakesley Burkhart

    Massachusetts Institute of Technology, None, University of Colorado Boulder, Virginia Tech, MIT Haystack Observatory, University of Alabama, Johns Hopkins University, University of Maryland College Park, University of Illinois Urbana Champaign, Rutgers University, Institute of Solar-Terrestrial Physics, New Jersey Inst of Tech, Flatiron Institute, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Los Alamos National Laboratory, The College of William \& Mary, Cornell University, Cornell University, California Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology, Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute), New Jersey Institute of Technology, New Jersey Institute of Tech, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, Princeton University, University of Pittsburgh, DEVCOM Army Research Lab, University of Louisville, University of Cape Town, Rutgers University/Flatiron Institute, Center for Astrophysics, Harvard & Smithsonian, Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, The Australian National University, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey