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Abstract: Galaxy cluster mergers that exhibit clear dissociation between their dark matter, intracluster gas, and stellar components are great laboratories for probing dark matter properties. Mergers that are binary and in the plane of the sky have the additional advantage of being simpler to model, allowing for a better understanding of the merger dynamics. We report the discovery of a galaxy cluster merger with all these characteristics and present a multiwavelength analysis of the system, which was found via a search in the redMaPPer optical cluster catalog. We perform a galaxy redshift survey to confirm the two subclusters are at the same redshift (0.541, with 368 ± 519 km s−1 line-of-sight velocity difference between them). The X-ray morphology shows two surface brightness peaks between the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). We construct weak-lensing mass maps that reveal a mass peak associated with each subcluster. Fitting Navarro–Frenk–White profiles to the lensing data, we find masses of M 200c = 36 ± 11 × 1013 and 38 ± 11 × 1013 M ⊙ h −1 for the southern and northern subclusters, respectively. From the mass maps, we infer that the two mass peaks are separated by 520 − 125 + 162 kpc along the merger axis, whereas the two BCGs are separated by 697 kpc. We also present deep GMRT 650 MHz data to search for a radio relic or halo and find none. Using the observed merger parameters, we find analog systems in cosmological n-body simulations and infer that this system is observed between 96 and 236 Myr after pericenter, with the merger axis within 28° of the plane of the sky.

Studies of star formation in various galaxy cluster mergers have reached apparently contradictory conclusions regarding whether mergers stimulate star formation, quench it, or have no effect. Because the mergers studied span a range of time since pericenter (TSP), it is possible that the apparent effect on star formation is a function of the TSP. We use a sample of 12 bimodal mergers to assess the star formation as a function of TSP. We measure the equivalent width of the Hα emission line in ∼100 member galaxies in each merger, classify galaxies as emitters or nonemitters, and then classify emitters as star-forming galaxies (SFGs) or active galactic nucleus (AGN) based on the [N ii] λ6583 line. We quantify the distribution of SFG and AGN relative to nonemitters along the spatial axis defined by the subcluster separation. The SFG and AGN fractions vary from merger to merger but show no trend with TSP. The spatial distribution of SFG is consistent with that of nonemitters in eight mergers, but show significant avoidance of the system center in the remaining four mergers, including the three with the lowest TSP. If there is a connection between star formation activity and TSP, probing it further will require more precise TSP estimates and more mergers with TSP in the range of 0-400 Myr.

We report the discovery of a binary galaxy cluster merger via a search of the redMaPPer optical cluster catalog, with a projected separation of 535 kpc between the brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). Archival XMM-Newton spectro-imaging reveals a gas peak between the BCGs, suggesting a recent pericenter passage. We conduct a galaxy redshift survey to quantify the line-of-sight velocity difference (153 ± 281 km s−1) between the two subclusters. We present weak-lensing mass maps from archival Hubble Space Telescope Advanced Camera for Surveys (HST/ACS) imaging, revealing masses of M 200 = 4.5 ± 0.8 × 1014 and 2.8 ± 0.7 × 1014 M ⊙ associated with the southern and northern galaxy subclusters, respectively. We also present deep GMRT 650 MHz data revealing extended emission, 420 kpc long, which may be an active galactic nucleus (AGN) tail but is potentially also a candidate radio relic. We draw from cosmological n-body simulations to find analog systems, which imply that this system is observed fairly soon (60-271 Myr) after pericenter, and that the subcluster separation vector is within 22° of the plane of the sky, making it suitable for an estimate of the dark matter scattering cross section. We find σ DM m = 1.1 ± 0.6 cm2 g−1, suggesting that further study of this system could support interestingly tight constraints.

Weak gravitational lensing shear could be measured far more precisely if information about unlensed attributes of source galaxies were available. Disk galaxy velocity fields supply such information, at least in principle, with idealized models predicting orders of magnitude more Fisher information when velocity-field observations are used to complement images. To test the level at which realistic features of disk galaxies (warps, bars, spiral arms, and other substructure) inject noise or bias into such shear measurements, we fit an idealized disk model, including shear, to unsheared galaxies in the Illustris TNG100 simulation. The inferred shear thus indicates the extent to which unmodeled galaxy features inject noise and bias. We find that γ +, the component of shear parallel to the galaxy’s first principal axis, is highly biased and noisy because disks violate the assumption of face-on circularity, displaying a range of intrinsic axis ratios (0.85 ± 0.11). The other shear component, γ ×, shows little bias and is well-described by a double Gaussian distribution with central core scatter σ core ≈ 0.03, with low-amplitude, broad wings. This is the first measurement of the natural noise floor in the proposed velocity-field lensing technique. We conclude that the technique will achieve impressive precision gains for measurements of γ ×, but little gain for measurements of γ +

SARS-CoV-2 infection causes diverse outcomes ranging from asymptomatic infection to respiratory distress and death. A major unresolved question is whether prior immunity to endemic, human common cold coronaviruses (hCCCoVs) impacts susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection or immunity following infection and vaccination. Therefore, we analyzed samples from the same individuals before and after SARS-CoV-2 infection or vaccination. We found hCCCoV antibody levels increase after SARS-CoV-2 exposure, demonstrating cross-reactivity. However, a case-control study indicates that baseline hCCCoV antibody levels are not associated with protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Rather, higher magnitudes of pre-existing betacoronavirus antibodies correlate with more SARS-CoV-2 antibodies following infection, an indicator of greater disease severity. Additionally, immunization with hCCCoV spike proteins before SARS-CoV-2 immunization impedes the generation of SARS-CoV-2-neutralizing antibodies in mice. Together, these data suggest that pre-existing hCCCoV antibodies hinder SARS-CoV-2 antibody-based immunity following infection and provide insight on how pre-existing coronavirus immunity impacts SARS-CoV-2 infection, which is critical considering emerging variants.

The investigation of merging galaxy clusters that exhibit radio relics is strengthening our understanding of the formation and evolution of galaxy clusters, the nature of dark matter, the intracluster medium, and astrophysical particle acceleration. Each merging cluster provides only a single view of the cluster formation process, and the variety of merging clusters is vast. Clusters hosting double radio relics are rare and extremely important because they allow tight constraints on the merger scenario. We present a weak-lensing and X-ray analysis of MACS J1752.0+4440 (z = 0.365) and ZWCL 1856.8+6616 (z = 0.304), two double radio relic clusters. Our weak-lensing mass estimates show that each cluster is a major merger with approximately 1:1 mass ratio. The total mass of MACS J1752.0+4440 (ZWCL 1856.8+6616) is M200 = 14.7-+3.33.8 ´ 1014 Me (M200 = 2.4-+0.70.9 ´ 1014 Me). We find that these two clusters have comparable features in their weak-lensing and gas distributions, even though the systems have vastly different total masses. From the likeness of the X-ray morphologies and the remarkable symmetry of the radio relics, we propose that both systems underwent nearly head-on collisions. However, revelations from the hot-gas features and our multiwavelength data analysis suggest that ZWCL 1856.8+6618 is likely at a later merger phase than MACS J1752.0+4440. We postulate that the SW radio relic in MACS J1752.0 +4440 is a result of particle reacceleration.

The efficacy of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines administered after COVID-19-specific monoclonal antibody is unknown, and "antibody interference" might hinder immune responses leading to vaccine failure. In an institutional review board-approved prospective study, we found that an individual who received mRNA COVID-19 vaccination

Weak gravitational lensing measurements based on photometry are limited by shape noise: the variance in the unknown unlensed orientations of the source galaxies. If the source is a disk galaxy with a well-ordered velocity field, however, velocity field data can support simultaneous inference of the shear, inclination, and position angle, virtually eliminating shape noise. We use the Fisher information matrix formalism to forecast the precision of this method in the idealized case of a perfectly ordered velocity field defined on an infinitesimally thin disk. For nearly face-on targets, one shear component, γ×, can be constrained to 0.003 9025/Ionpix, where I0 is the signal-to-noise ratio of the central intensity pixel and npix is the number of pixels across a diameter enclosing 80% of the light. This precision degrades with inclination angle by a factor of 3 by i = 50°. The uncertainty on the other shear component, γ+, is about 1.5 (7) times larger than the γ× uncertainty for targets at i = 10° (50°). For an arbitrary galaxy position angle on the sky, these forecasts apply not to γ+ and γ× as defined on the sky but to two eigenvectors in (γ+, γ×, μ) space, where μ is the magnification. We also forecast the potential of less expensive partial observations of the velocity field, such as slit spectroscopy. We conclude by outlining some ways in which real galaxies depart from our idealized model and thus create random or systematic uncertainties not captured here. In particular, our forecast γ× precision is currently limited only by the data quality rather than scatter in galaxy properties because the relevant type of scatter has yet to be measured.

We present deep Chandra observations of A3411-12, a remarkable merging cluster that hosts the most compelling evidence for electron reacceleration at cluster shocks to date. Using the YX-M scaling relation, we find r 500 ∼ 1.3 Mpc, M500 =(7.1 ± 0.7) × 1014 M⊙, kT =6.5 ± 0.1 keV, and a gas mass of Mg,500 =(9.7 ± 0.1) × 1013 M⊙. The gas mass fraction within r 500 is fg = 0.14 ± 0.01. We compute the shock strength using density jumps to conclude that the Mach number of the merging subcluster is small (M ≤ 1.15-0.09+0.14). We also present density, temperature, pseudo-pressure, and pseudo-entropy maps. Based on the pseudo-entropy map, we conclude that the cluster is undergoing a mild merger, consistent with the small Mach number. On the other hand, radio relics extend over Mpc scale in the A3411-12 system, which strongly suggests that a population of energetic electrons already existed over extended regions of the cluster.

Merging galaxy clusters may provide a unique window into the behavior of dark matter and the evolution of member galaxies. To interpret these natural collider experiments, we must account for how much time has passed since pericenter passage (TSP), the maximum relative speed of the merging subclusters, merger phase (outbound after first pericenter or returning for second pericenter), and other dynamical parameters that are not directly observable. These quantities are often inferred from staged simulations or analytical timing arguments that include neither substructure, nor large-scale structure, nor a cosmologically motivated range of impact parameters. We include all these effects by extracting dynamical parameters from analog systems in a cosmological n-body simulation, and we present constraints for 11 observed systems. The TSP and viewing angles we derive are consistent with those of staged hydrodynamical simulations, but we find lower maximum speeds. Compared to the analytical MCMAC method, we find lower TSP and viewing angles that put the separation vector closer to the plane of the sky; we attribute this to the MCMAC assumption of zero pericenter distance. We discuss potential extensions to the basic analog method, as well as complementarities between methods.

A115 is a merging galaxy cluster at z ∼ 0.2 with a number of remarkable features, including a giant (∼2.5 Mpc) radio relic, two asymmetric X-ray peaks with trailing tails, and a peculiar line-of-sight velocity structure. We present a multiwavelength study of A115 using optical imaging data from Subaru, X-ray data from Chandra, and spectroscopic data from the Keck/DEIMOS and MMT/Hectospec instruments. Our weak-lensing (WL) analysis shows that the cluster is composed of two subclusters whose mass centroids are in excellent agreement with the two brightest cluster galaxy positions (≲10″). By modeling A115 with a superposition of two Navarro-Frenk-White halos, we determine the masses of the northern and southern subclusters to be M 200 = 1.58 +0.56-0.49 × 10 14 M ⊙ and 3.15 +0.79-0.71 × 10 14 M ⊙ , respectively. Combining the two halos, we estimate the total cluster mass to be M 200 = 6.41 +1.08-1.04 × 10 14 M ⊙ at R 200 = 1.67 +0.10-0.09 Mpc. These WL masses are significantly (a factor of 3-10) lower than what is implied by the X-ray and optical spectroscopic data. We attribute the difference to the gravitational and hydrodynamic disruption caused by the collision between the two subclusters.

The orientations of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) and their host clusters tend to be aligned, but the mechanism driving this is not clear. To probe the role of cluster mergers in this process, we quantify alignments of 38 BCGs in 22 clusters undergoing major mergers (up to ∼1 Gyr after first pericenter). We find alignments entirely consistent with those of clusters in general. This suggests that alignments are robust against major cluster mergers. If, conversely, major cluster mergers actually help orient the BCG, such a process is acting quickly because the orientation is in place within ∼1 Gyr after first pericenter.

Astrophysical and cosmological observations currently provide the onlyrobust, empirical measurements of dark matter. Future observations with LargeSynoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) will provide necessary guidance for theexperimental dark matter program. This white paper represents a communityeffort to summarize the science case for studying the fundamental physics ofdark matter with LSST. We discuss how LSST will inform our understanding of thefundamental properties of dark matter, such as particle mass, self-interactionstrength, non-gravitational couplings to the Standard Model, and compact objectabundances. Additionally, we discuss the ways that LSST will complement otherexperiments to strengthen our understanding of the fundamental characteristicsof dark matter. More information on the LSST dark matter effort can be found athttps://lsstdarkmatter.github.io/ .

We present cosmological parameter measurements from the Deep Lens Survey (DLS) using galaxy-mass and galaxy-galaxy power spectra in the multipole range ℓ = 250-2000. We measure galaxy-galaxy power spectra from two lens bins centered at z ∼ 0.27 and 0.54 and galaxy-mass power spectra by cross-correlating the positions of galaxies in these two lens bins with galaxy shapes in two source bins centered at z ∼ 0.64 and 1.1. We marginalize over a baryonic feedback process using a single-parameter representation and a sum of neutrino masses, as well as photometric redshift and shear calibration systematic uncertainties. For a flat ΛCDM cosmology, we determine , in good agreement with our previous DLS cosmic shear and the Planck cosmic microwave background (CMB) measurements. Without the baryonic feedback marginalization, S 8 decreases by because the dark-matter-only power spectrum lacks the suppression at the highest ℓ values owing to active galactic nucleus (AGN) feedback. Together with the Planck CMB measurements, we constrain the baryonic feedback parameter to , which suggests an interesting possibility that the actual AGN feedback might be stronger than the recipe used in the OverWhelmingly Large cosmological hydrodynamical Simulations. The interpretation is limited by the validity of the baryonic feedback simulation and the one-parameter representation of the effect.

In an influential recent paper, Harvey et al. derive an upper limit to the self-interaction cross section of dark matter (DM) (< 0.47 cm2 g-1 at 95% confidence) by averaging the DM-galaxy offsets in a sample of merging galaxy clusters. Using much more comprehensive data on the same clusters, we identify several substantial errors in their offset measurements. Correcting these errors relaxes the upper limit on to ≲2 cm2 g-1, following the Harvey et al. prescription for relating offsets to cross sections in a simple solid-body scattering model. Furthermore, many clusters in the sample violate the assumptions behind this prescription, so even this revised upper limit should be used with caution. Although this particular sample does not tightly constrain self-interacting DM models when analyzed this way, we discuss how merger ensembles may be used more effectively in the future. We conclude that errors inherent in using single-band imaging to identify mass and light peaks do not necessarily average out in a sample of this size, particularly when a handful of substructures constitute a majority of the weight in the ensemble.

A key uncertainty in interpreting observations of bimodal merging galaxy clusters is the unknown angle between the subcluster separation vector and the plane of the sky. We present a new method for constraining this key parameter. We find analogs of observed systems in cosmological n-body simulations, and quantify their likelihood of matching the observed projected separation and relative radial velocities between subclusters, as a function of viewing angle. We derive constraints on the viewing angle of many observed bimodal mergers including the Bullet Cluster (1E 0657-558) and El Gordo (ACT-CL J0102-4915). We also present more generic constraints as a function of projected separation and relative radial velocity, which can be used to assess additional clusters as information about them becomes available. The constraints from these two observables alone are weak (typically ≳-75° at 68% confidence and ≳-60° at 95% confidence), but they incorporate much more cosmological context than the classical timing argument, marginalizing over many realizations of substructure, peculiar velocities, and so on. Compared with the MCMAC code, which implements the timing argument on NFW halos, our constraints generally predict subcluster separation vectors closer to the plane of the sky. This is because in realistic mergers, the subcluster velocity vectors are not entirely parallel to the separation vector (i.e., the mergers are not perfectly head-on). As a result, observation of a non-zero relative radial velocity does not exclude a separation vector in the plane of the sky, as it does in the head-on timing argument employed by MCMAC.

The second most significant detection of the Planck Sunyaev-Zel'dovich survey, PLCK G287.0+32.9 (z = 0.385), boasts two similarly bright radio relics and a radio halo. One radio relic is located NW of the X-ray peak and the other Mpc to the SE. This large difference suggests that a complex merging scenario is required. A key missing puzzle for the merging scenario reconstruction is the underlying dark matter distribution in high resolution. We present a joint Subaru Telescope and Hubble Space Telescope weak-lensing analysis of the cluster. Our analysis shows that the mass distribution features four significant substructures. Of the substructures, a primary cluster of mass M200c = 1.59+0.25-0.22 ×1015 h-170 Mo dominates the weak-lensing signal. This cluster is likely to be undergoing a merger with one (or more) subcluster whose mass is approximately a factor of 10 lower. One candidate is the subcluster of mass M200c =1.16 0.15-0.13 ×1014h-170 Molocated ∼ 400 kpc to the SE. The location of this subcluster suggests that its interaction with the primary cluster could be the source of the NW radio relic. Another subcluster is detected ∼2 Mpc to the SE of the X-ray peak with mass M200c = 1.68 +0.22-0.20 ×1014h-170 Mo. This SE subcluster is in the vicinity of the SE radio relic and may have created the SE radio relic during a past merger with the primary cluster. The fourth subcluster, M200c = 1.87 +0.24-0.22×1014h-170 Mo, is NW of the X-ray peak and beyond the NW radio relic.

Merging galaxy clusters have been touted as one of the best probes for constraining selfinteracting darkmatter, but fewsimulations exist to back up this claim. We simulate equal-mass mergers of 1015 M⊙ haloes, like the El Gordo and Sausage clusters, with cosmologically motivated halo and merger parameters, and with velocity-independent dark-matter self-interactions. Although the standard lore for merging clusters is that self-interactions lead to large separations between the galaxy and dark-matter distributions, we find that maximal galaxy-dark matter offsets of ≲20 kpc form for a self-interaction cross-section of σSI/mχ = 1 cm2 g-1. This is an order of magnitude smaller than those measured in observed equal-mass and near-equalmass mergers, and is likely to be even smaller for lower mass systems. While competitive cross-section constraints are thus unlikely to emerge from offsets, we find other signatures of self-interactions that are more promising. Intriguingly, we find that after dark-matter haloes coalesce, the collisionless galaxies [and especially the brightest cluster galaxy (BCG)] oscillate around the centre of the merger remnant on stable orbits of 100 kpc for σSI/mχ =1 cm2 g-1 for at least several Gyr, well after the clusters have relaxed. If BCG miscentring in relaxed clusters remains a robust prediction of self-interacting dark matter under the addition of gas physics, substructure, merger mass ratios (e.g. 10:1 like the Bullet Cluster) and complex cosmological merger histories, the observed BCG offsets may constrain σSI/mχ to ≲0.1 cm2 g-1 - the tightest constraint yet.

We continue the study of the first sample of shear-selected clusters from the initial 8.6 square degrees of the Deep Lens Survey (DLS); a sample with well-defined selection criteria corresponding to the highest ranked shear peaks in the survey area. We aim to characterize the weak lensing selection by examining the sample's X-ray properties. There are multiple X-ray clusters associated with nearly all the shear peaks: 14 X-ray clusters corresponding to seven DLS shear peaks. An additional three X-ray clusters cannot be definitively associated with shear peaks, mainly due to large positional offsets between the X-ray centroid and the shear peak. Here we report on the XMM-Newton properties of the 17 X-ray clusters. The X-ray clusters display a wide range of luminosities and temperatures; the L X-T X relation we determine for the shear-associated X-ray clusters is consistent with X-ray cluster samples selected without regard to dynamical state, while it is inconsistent with self-similarity. For a subset of the sample, we measure X-ray masses using temperature as a proxy, and compare to weak lensing masses determined by the DLS team. The resulting mass comparison is consistent with equality. The X-ray and weak lensing masses show considerable intrinsic scatter (∼48%), which is consistent with X-ray selected samples when their X-ray and weak lensing masses are independently determined.

We present and analyze a rich data set including Subaru/SuprimeCam, HST/Advanced Camera for Surveys and Wide Field Camera 3, Keck/DEIMOS, Chandra/ACIS-I, and JVLA/C and D array for the merging cluster of galaxies ZwCl 0008.8+5215. With a joint Subaru+HST weak gravitational lensing analysis, we identify two dominant subclusters and estimate the masses to be M200 = 5.7+2.8-1.8 × 1014 M⊙ and 1.2 +1.4-0.6 × 1014 M⊙. We estimate the projected separation between the two subclusters to be 924+243-206kpc. We perform a clustering analysis of spectroscopically confirmed cluster member galaxies and estimate the line-of-sight velocity difference between the two subclusters to be 92 ± 164 kms-1. We further motivate, discuss, and analyze the merger scenario through an analysis of the 42 ks of Chandra/ACIS-I and JVLA/C and D array polarization data. The X-ray surface brightness profile reveals a merging gas-core reminiscent of the Bullet Cluster. The global X-ray luminosity in the 0.5-7.0 keV band is and the global X-ray temperature is 4.90 ±0.13 keV. The radio relics are polarized up to 40%, and along with the masses, velocities, and positions of the two subclusters, we input these quantities into a Monte Carlo dynamical analysis and estimate the merger velocity at pericenter to be 1800+400-300 kms-1 . This is a lower-mass version of the Bullet Cluster and therefore may prove useful in testing alternative models of dark matter (DM). We do not find significant offsets between DM and galaxies, but the uncertainties are large with the current lensing data. Furthermore, in the east, the BCG is offset from other luminous cluster galaxies, which poses a puzzle for defining DM-galaxy offsets.

On the largest scales, the Universe consists of voids and filaments making up the cosmic web. Galaxy clusters are located at the knots in this web, at the intersection of filaments. Clusters grow through accretion from these large-scale filaments and by mergers with other clusters and groups. In a growing number of galaxy clusters, elongated Mpc-sized radio sources have been found 1,2. Also known as radio relics, these regions of diffuse radio emission are thought to trace relativistic electrons in the intracluster plasma accelerated by low-Mach-number shocks generated by cluster-cluster merger events 3. A long-standing problem is how low-Mach-number shocks can accelerate electrons so efficiently to explain the observed radio relics. Here, we report the discovery of a direct connection between a radio relic and a radio galaxy in the merging galaxy cluster Abell 3411-3412 by combining radio, X-ray and optical observations. This discovery indicates that fossil relativistic electrons from active galactic nuclei are re-accelerated at cluster shocks. It also implies that radio galaxies play an important role in governing the non-thermal component of the intracluster medium in merging clusters.

We present an analysis of the merging cluster MACS J1149.5+2223 using archival imaging from Subaru/Suprime-Cam and multi-object spectroscopy from Keck/DEIMOS and Gemini/GMOS. We employ two- and three-dimensional substructure tests and determine that MACS J1149.5+2223 is composed of two separate mergers among three subclusters occurring ∼1 Gyr apart. The primary merger gives rise to elongated X-ray morphology and a radio relic in the southeast. The brightest cluster galaxy is a member of the northern subcluster of the primary merger. This subcluster is very massive (). The southern subcluster is also very massive (), yet it lacks an associated X-ray surface brightness peak, and it has been unidentified previously despite the detailed study of this Frontier Field cluster. A secondary merger is occurring in the north along the line of sight (LOS) with a third, less massive subcluster (). We perform a Monte Carlo dynamical analysis on the main merger and estimate a collision speed at pericenter of km s-1. We show the merger to be returning from apocenter with core passage occurring Gyr before the observed state. We identify the LOS merging subcluster in a strong lensing analysis in the literature and show that it is likely bound to MACS J1149 despite having reached an extreme collision velocity of ∼4000 km s-1.

We present a tomographic cosmic shear study from the Deep Lens Survey (DLS), which, providing a limiting magnitude rlim ∼ 27 (5s), is designed as a precursor Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) survey with an emphasis on depth. Using five tomographic redshift bins, we study their auto- and cross-correlations to constrain cosmological parameters. We use a luminosity-dependent nonlinear model to account for the astrophysical systematics originating from intrinsic alignments of galaxy shapes. We find that the cosmological leverage of the DLS is among the highest among existing >10 deg2 cosmic shear surveys. Combining the DLS tomography with the 9 yr results of the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP9) gives W = m 0.293- +0.014 0.012, s-1 = 0.833 +0.018-0.011, = +- H0 68.6 km s Mpc 1.2+1.4 - - 1 1, and W = b 0.0475 0.0012 for CDM, reducing the uncertainties of the WMAP9- only constraints by ∼50%. When we do not assume flatness for CDM, we obtain the curvature constraint W = - +- k 0.010 0.015+0.013 from the DLS+WMAP9 combination, which, however, is not well constrained when WMAP9 is used alone. The dark energy equation-of-state parameter w is tightly constrained when baryonic acoustic oscillation (BAO) data are added, yielding w = -1.02- +0.090.10 with the DLS+WMAP9+BAO joint probe. The addition of supernova constraints further tightens the parameter to w = - 1.03 ±0.03. Our joint constraints are fully consistent with the final Planck results and also with the predictions of a CDM universe.

We describe a new test of photometric redshift performance given a spectroscopic redshift sample. This test complements the traditional comparison of redshift differences by testing whether the probability density functions p(z) have the correct width.We test two photometric redshift codes, BPZ and EAZY, on each of two data sets and find that BPZ is consistently overconfident (the p(z) are too narrow) while EAZY produces approximately the correct level of confidence. We show that this is because EAZY models the uncertainty in its spectral energy distribution templates, and that post-hoc smoothing of the BPZ p(z) provides a reasonable substitute for detailed modelling of template uncertainties. Either remedy still leaves a small surplus of galaxies with spectroscopic redshift very far from the peaks. Thus, better modelling of low-probability tails will be needed for high-precision work such as dark energy constraints with the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and other large surveys.

The galaxy cluster RX J0603.3+4214 at z = 0.225 is one of the rarest clusters boasting an extremely large (∼2 Mpc) radio relic. Because of the remarkable morphology of the relic, the cluster is nicknamed the "Toothbrush Cluster." Although the cluster's underlying mass distribution is one of the critical pieces of information needed to reconstruct the merger scenario responsible for the puzzling radio relic morphology, its proximity to the Galactic plane b ∼ 10° has imposed significant observational challenges. We present a high-resolution weak-lensing study of the cluster with Subaru/Suprime Cam and Hubble Space Telescope imaging data. Our mass reconstruction reveals that the cluster is composed of complicated dark matter substructures closely tracing the galaxy distribution, in contrast, however, with the relatively simple binary X-ray morphology. Nevertheless, we find that the cluster mass is still dominated by the two most massive clumps aligned north-south with a ∼3:1 mass ratio ( and for the northern and southern clumps, respectively). The southern mass peak is ∼2′ offset toward the south with respect to the corresponding X-ray peak, which has a "bullet"-like morphology pointing south. Comparison of the current weak-lensing result with the X-ray, galaxy, and radio relic suggests that perhaps the dominant mechanism responsible for the observed relic may be a high-speed collision of the two most massive subclusters, although the peculiarity of the morphology necessitates involvement of additional subclusters. Careful numerical simulations should follow in order to obtain more complete understanding of the merger scenario utilizing all existing observations.

Cluster mergers may play a fundamental role in the formation and evolution of cluster galaxies. Stroe et al. revealed unexpected overdensities of candidate Hα emitters near the ~1-Mpc-wide shock fronts of the massive (~2 × 1015 M⊙) 'Sausage' merging cluster, CIZA J2242.8+5301. We used the Keck/Deep Imaging Multi-Object Spectrograph and the William Herschel Telescope/AutoFib2+WYFFOS to confirm 83 Hα emitters in and around the merging cluster. We find that cluster star-forming galaxies in the hottest X-ray gas and/or in the cluster subcores (away from the shock fronts) show high [S II]6716/[S II]6761 and high [S II] 6716/Hα, implying very low electron densities ( 2.5 Mpc). This suggests that the shock front may have triggered remaining metal-rich gas which galaxies were able to retain into forming stars. Our observations show that the merger of impressively massive (~1015 M⊙) clusters can provide the conditions for significant star formation and AGN activity, but, as we witness strong feedback by star-forming galaxies and AGN (and given how massive the merging cluster is), such sources will likely quench in a few 100 Myr.

CIZA J2242.8+5301 ('Sausage') and 1RXS J0603.3+4213 ('Toothbrush') are two lowredshift (z ~ 0.2), massive (~2 × 1015M·), post-core passage merging clusters, which host-shock waves traced by diffuse radio emission. To study their star formation properties, we uniformly survey the 'Sausage' and 'Toothbrush' clusters in broad- and narrow-band filters and select a sample of 201 and 463 line emitters, down to a rest-frame equivalent width (13 Å). We robustly separate between Hα and higher redshift emitters using a combination of optical multiband (B, g, V, r, i, z) and spectroscopic data. We build Hα luminosity functions for the entire cluster region, near the shock fronts, and away from the shock fronts and find striking differences between the two clusters. In the dynamically younger, 1 Gyr old 'Sausage' cluster we find numerous (59) Hα emitters above a star formation rate (SFR) of 0.17 M· yr-1 surprisingly located in close proximity to the shock fronts, embedded in very hot intracluster medium plasma. The SFR density for the cluster population is at least at the level of typical galaxies at z ~2. Down to the same SFR, the possibly dynamically more evolved 'Toothbrush' cluster has only nine Hα galaxies. The cluster Hα galaxies fall on the SFR-stellarmass relation z ~ 0.2 for the field. However, the 'Sausage' cluster has an Hαa emitter density >20 times that of blank fields. If the shock passes through gas-rich cluster galaxies, the compressed gas could collapse into dense clouds and excite star formation for a few 100 Myr. This process ultimately leads to a rapid consumption of the molecular gas, accelerating the transformation of gas-rich field spirals into cluster S0s or ellipticals.

X-ray and radio observations of CIZA J2242.8+5301 suggest that it is a majorcluster merger. Despite being well studied in the X-ray, and radio, little hasbeen presented on the cluster structure and dynamics inferred from its galaxypopulation. We carried out a deep (i

The galaxy cluster CIZA J2242.8+5301 at z = 0.19 is a merging system with a prominent (2 Mpc long) radio relic, which together with the morphology of the X-ray emission provides strong evidence for a violent collision along the north-south axis. We present our constraints on the dark matter distribution of this unusual system using Subaru and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope imaging data. Measuring a high signal-to-noise ratio lensing signal from this cluster is potentially a challenging task because of its proximity to the Milky Way plane (|b| 5°). We overcome this challenge with careful observation planning and systematics control, which enables us to successfully map the dark matter distribution of the cluster with high fidelity. The resulting mass map shows that the mass distribution of CIZA J2242.8+5301 is highly elongated along the north-south merger axis inferred from the orientation of the radio relics. Based on our mass reconstruction, we identify two sub-clusters, which coincide with the cluster galaxy distributions. We determine their masses using Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis by simultaneously fitting two Navarro-Frenk-White halos without fixing their centroids. The resulting masses of the northern and southern systems are and , respectively, indicating that we are witnessing a post-collision of two giant systems of nearly equal mass. When the mass and galaxy centroids are compared in detail, we detect 1′ (190 kpc) offsets in both northern and southern sub-clusters. After investigating the statistical significance of the offsets by bootstrapping both mass and galaxy centroids, we find that the galaxy luminosity-mass offset for the northern clump is statistically significant at the ≳ 2σ level whereas the detection is only marginal for the southern sub-cluster in part because of a relatively large mass centroid error. We conclude that it is yet premature to uniquely attribute the galaxy-mass misalignment to self-interaction of dark matter and discuss caveats.