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The microphysical properties, such as effective viscosity and conductivity, of the weakly magnetized intergalactic plasma are not yet well known. We investigate the constraints that can be placed by an azimuthally resolved study of the cold front in Abell 3667 using $\sim$500 ksec archival Chandra data. We find that the radius of the interface fluctuates with position angle and the morphology of the interface is strikingly similar to recent numerical simulations of inviscid gas-stripping. We find multiple edges in the surface brightness profiles across the cold front as well as azimuthal variations, which are consistent with the presence of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instabilities (KHI) developing along the cold front. They indicate that the characteristic length scale of KHI rolls is around 20-80 kpc. This is the first observational indication of developing KHIs along a merger cold front in a galaxy cluster. Based on the KHI scenario, we estimated the upper limit of the ICM effective viscosity. The estimated value of $\mu\lesssim200~\mathrm{g/cm/s}$ is at most 5% of the isotropic Spitzer-like viscosity. The observed apparent mixing towards the outer edges away from the tip of the front provides an additional evidence for suppressed viscosity., Comment: accepted for publication in MNRAS

Erratum to: A&A, 622, A20 (2019), https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201833900

We examine the possible acceleration mechanisms of the relativistic particles responsible for the extended radio emission in Abell 520. We used new LOFAR 145 MHz, archival GMRT 323 MHz and VLA 1.5 GHz data to study the morphological and spectral properties of extended cluster emission. The observational properties are discussed in the framework of particle acceleration models associated with cluster merger turbulence and shocks. In Abell 520, we confirm the presence of extended synchrotron radio emission that has been classified as a radio halo. The comparison between the radio and X-ray brightness suggests that the halo might originate in a cocoon rather than from the central X-ray bright regions of the cluster. The halo spectrum is roughly uniform on the scale of 66 kpc. There is a hint of spectral steepening from the SW edge towards the cluster centre. Assuming DSA, the radio data are suggestive of a shock of $\mathcal{M}_{SW}=2.6_{-0.2}^{+0.3}$ that is consistent with the X-ray derived estimates. This is in line with the scenario in which relativistic electrons in the SW radio edge gain their energies at the shock front via acceleration of either thermal or fossil electrons. We do not detect extended radio emission ahead of the SW shock that is predicted if the emission is the result of adiabatic compression. An X-ray surface brightness discontinuity is detected towards the NE region that may be a counter shock of $\mathcal{M}_{NE}^{X}=1.52\pm0.05$. This is lower than the value predicted from the radio emission ($\mathcal{M}_{NE}=2.1\pm0.2$). Our observations indicate that the SW radio emission in Abell 520 is likely effected by the prominent X-ray detected shock in which radio emitting particles are (re-)accelerated through the Fermi-I mechanism. The NE X-ray discontinuity that is approximately collocated with an edge in the radio emission hints at the presence of a counter shock., Comment: 8 figures, 2 tables and 11 pages. This paper is part of the LOFAR surveys data release 1 and has been accepted for publication in a special edition of A&A that will appear in Feb 2019, volume 622. The catalogues and images from the data release will be publicly available on lofar-surveys.org upon publication of the journal

Abell 2146 ($z=0.232$) is a massive galaxy cluster currently undergoing a spectacular merger in the plane of the sky with a bullet-like morphology. It was the first system in which both the bow and upstream shock fronts were detected at X-ray wavelengths (Mach$\sim2$), yet deep GMRT 325 MHz observations failed to detect extended radio emission associated with the cluster as is typically seen in such systems. We present new, multi-configuration $1-2$ GHz Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) observations of Abell 2146 totalling 16 hours of observations. These data reveal for the first time the presence of an extended ($\approx850$ kpc), faint radio structure associated with Abell 2146. The structure appears to harbour multiple components, one associated with the upstream shock which we classify as a radio relic and one associated with the subcluster core which is consisted as being a radio halo bounded by the bow shock. The newly detected structures have some of the lowest radio powers detected thus far in any cluster ($P_{\rm 1.4 GHz, halo}=2.4\pm0.2\times10^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$ and $P_{\rm 1.4 GHz, relic}=2.2\pm0.2\times10^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$). The flux measurement of the halo, as well as its morphology, also suggest that the halo was recently created ($\approx0.3$ Gyr after core passage), consistent with the dynamical state of the cluster. These observations demonstrate the capacity of the upgraded VLA to detect extremely faint and extended radio structures. Based on these observations, we predict that many more radio relics and radio halos in merging clusters should be detected by future radio facilities such as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA)., Comment: 13 pages, 2 tables, 8 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS on 30 October 2017 (minor corrections)

We present a dynamical analysis of the merging galaxy cluster system Abell 2146 using spectroscopy obtained with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph on the Gemini North telescope. As revealed by the Chandra X-ray Observatory, the system is undergoing a major merger and has a gas structure indicative of a recent first core passage. The system presents two large shock fronts, making it unique amongst these rare systems. The hot gas structure indicates that the merger axis must be close to the plane of the sky and that the two merging clusters are relatively close in mass, from the observation of two shock fronts. Using 63 spectroscopically determined cluster members, we apply various statistical tests to establish the presence of two distinct massive structures. With the caveat that the system has recently undergone a major merger, the virial mass estimate is M_vir = 8.5 +4.3 -4.7 x 10 ^14 M_sol for the whole system, consistent with the mass determination in a previous study using the Sunyaev-Zeldovich signal. The newly calculated redshift for the system is z = 0.2323. A two-body dynamical model gives an angle of 13-19 degrees between the merger axis and the plane of the sky, and a timescale after first core passage of 0.24-0.28 Gyr., Comment: Accepted in MNRAS on August 6 2015. 15 pages, 8 figures, 1 Table

Abell 2744 was the first HFF cluster completed. It displays a fascinating complexity in its distribution of dark and luminous matter, which led to its nickname of the Pandora cluster. In late 2014 we obtained a deep (110 ks) observation of this cluster with XMM-Newton, with the aim of making a detailed comparison between the optical, X-ray and lensing properties of this system. The new X-ray observation unveiled the presence of three hot gas filaments extending on scales of several Mpc and connected to the cluster core. The X-ray structures coincide spatially with the distribution of galaxies and dark matter and provide strong evidence for the existence of the elusive warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM). The new observation also reveals the complexity of the thermodynamic structure of the cluster core and a probable shock front associated with the radio relic located 1 Mpc NW of the cluster core.

Unlike the random radial orientation distribution of field elliptical galaxies, galaxies in a cluster are expected to point preferentially towards the center of the cluster, as a result of the cluster's tidal force on its member galaxies. In this work an analytic model is formulated to simulate this effect. The deformation time scale of a galaxy in a cluster is usually much shorter than the time scale of change of the tidal force; the dynamical process of the tidal interaction within the galaxy can thus be ignored. An equilibrium shape of a galaxy is then assumed to be the surface of equipotential, which is the sum of the self-gravitational potential of the galaxy and the tidal potential of the cluster at this location. We use a Monte-Carlo method to calculate the radial orientation distribution of these galaxies, by assuming the NFW mass profile of the cluster and the initial ellipticity of field galaxies. The radial angles show a single peak distribution centered at zero. The Monte-Carlo simulations also show that a shift of the reference center from the real cluster center weakens the anisotropy of the radial angle distribution. Therefore, the expected radial alignment cannot be revealed if the distribution of spatial position angle is used instead of that of radial angle. The observed radial orientations of elliptical galaxies in cluster Abell~2744 are consistent with the simulated distribution., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables. MNRAS in press

We consider the parametrized post-Newtonian (PPN) limit of ghost-free massive bimetric gravity with two mutually non-interacting matter sectors coupled to the two metrics. Making use of a gauge-invariant differential decomposition of the metric perturbations, we solve the field equations up to the linear PPN order for a static, point-like mass source. From the result we derive the PPN parameter $\gamma$ for spherically symmetric systems, which describes the gravitational deflection of light by visible matter. By a comparison to its value measured in the solar system we obtain bounds on the parameters of the theory. We further discuss the deflection of light by dark matter and find an agreement with the observed light deflection by galaxies. We finally speculate about a possible explanation for the observed distribution of dark matter in galactic mergers such as Abell 520 and Abell 3827., Comment: 36 pages, 1 figure; journal version

Dark plasma is an intriguing form of self-interacting dark matter with an effective fluid-like behavior, which is well motivated by various theoretical particle physics models. We aim to find an explanation for an isolated mass clump in the Abell 520 system, which cannot be explained by traditional models of dark matter, but has been detected in weak lensing observations. We performed N-body smoothed particle hydrodynamics simulations of galaxy cluster collisions with a two component model of dark matter, which is assumed to consist of a predominant non-interacting dark matter component and a 10-40 percent mass fraction of dark plasma. The mass of a possible dark clump was calculated for each simulation in a parameter scan over the underlying model parameters. In two higher resolution simulations shock-waves and Mach cones were observed to form in the dark plasma halos. By choosing suitable simulation parameters, the observed distributions of dark matter in both the Bullet Cluster (1E 0657-558) and Abell 520 (MS 0451.5+0250) can be qualitatively reproduced., Comment: 12 pages, 1 table, 6 figures now including two internal energy maps. The final version to appear in Astronomy & Astrophysics

Merging galaxy clusters present a unique opportunity to study the properties of dark matter in an astrophysical context. These are rare and extreme cosmic events in which the bulk of the baryonic matter becomes displaced from the dark matter halos of the colliding subclusters. Since all mass bends light, weak gravitational lensing is a primary tool to study the total mass distribution in such systems. Combined with X-ray and optical analyses, mass maps of cluster mergers reconstructed from weak-lensing observations have been used to constrain the self-interaction cross-section of dark matter. The dynamically complex Abell 520 (A520) cluster is an exceptional case, even among merging systems: multi-wavelength observations have revealed a surprising high mass-to-light concentration of dark mass, the interpretation of which is difficult under the standard assumption of effectively collisionless dark matter. We revisit A520 using a new sparsity-based mass-mapping algorithm to independently assess the presence of the puzzling dark core. We obtain high-resolution mass reconstructions from two separate galaxy shape catalogs derived from Hubble Space Telescope observations of the system. Our mass maps agree well overall with the results of previous studies, but we find important differences. In particular, although we are able to identify the dark core at a certain level in both data sets, it is at much lower significance than has been reported before using the same data. As we cannot confirm the detection in our analysis, we do not consider A520 as posing a significant challenge to the collisionless dark matter scenario., 13 pages, 8 figures, submitted to ApJ

We study the dynamical structure of a bimodal galaxy cluster Abell 3653 at z=0.1089 by using combined optical and X-ray data. Observations include archival data from Anglo-Australian Telescope and X-ray observatories of XMM-Newton and Chandra. We draw a global picture for A3653 using galaxy density, X-ray luminosity and temperature maps. Galaxy distribution has a regular morphological shape at the 3 Mpc size. Galaxy density map shows an elongation EW direction, which perfectly aligns with the extended diffuse X-ray emission. We detect two dominant grouping around two brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs). The BCG1 (z=0.1099) can be associated with the main cluster A3653E, and a foreground subcluster A3563W concentrated at the BCG2 (z=0.1075). Both X-ray peaks are dislocated from BCGs by ($\sim$35 kpc), which suggest an ongoing merger process. We measure the subclusters' gas temperatures 4.67 and 3.66 keV, respectively. Two-body dynamical analysis shows that A3653E & A3653W are very likely (93.5% probability) gravitationally bound. The highly favoured scenario suggests that two subclusters with the mass ratio of 1.4 are colliding close to the plane of sky ($\alpha$=17$^\circ$.61) with 2400 km $s^{-1}$, and will undergo core passage in 380 Myr. Temperature map also significantly shows a shock-heated gas (6.16 keV) in between the subclusters, which confirms the supersonic infalling scenario., Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures

The mergers of galaxy clusters are the most energetic events in the universe after the Big Bang. With the increased availability of multi-object spectroscopy and X-ray data an ever increasing fraction of local clusters are recognised as exhibiting signs of recent or past merging events on various scales. Our goal is to probe how these mergers affect the evolution and content of their member galaxies. We specifically aim to answer the following questions: Is the quenching of star formation in merging clusters enhanced when compared with relaxed clusters? Is the quenching preceded by a (short lived) burst of star formation? We obtained optical spectroscopy of >400 galaxies in the field of the merging cluster Abell 520. We combine these observations with archival data to get a comprehensive picture of the state of star formation in the members of this merging cluster. Finally, we compare these observations with a control sample of 10 non-merging clusters at the same redshift from The Arizona Cluster Redshift Survey (ACReS). We split the member galaxies in passive, star forming or recently quenched depending on their spectra. The core of the merger shows a decreased fraction of star forming galaxies compared to clusters in the non-merging sample. This region, dominated by passive galaxies, is extended along the axis of the merger. We find evidence of rapid quenching of the galaxies during the core passage with no signs of a star burst on the time scales of the merger (~0.4Gyr). Additionally, we report the tentative discovery of an infalling group along the main filament feeding the merger, currently at ~2.5 Mpc from the merger centre. This group contains a high fraction of star forming galaxies as well as ~2/3 of all the recently quenched galaxies in our survey., 18 pages, 15 figures. Accepted for publication in A&A

We present spectroscopy of 880 galaxies within a 2-degree field around the massive, merging cluster Abell 3266. This sample, which includes 704 new measurements, was combined with the existing redshifts measurements to generate a sample of over 1300 spectroscopic redshifts; the largest spectroscopic sample in the vicinity of A3266 to date. We define a cluster sub-sample of 790 redshifts which lie within a velocity range of 14,000 to 22,000 kms$^{-1}$ and within 1 degree of the cluster centre. A detailed structural analysis finds A3266 to have a complex dynamical structure containing six groups and filaments to the north of the cluster as well as a cluster core which can be decomposed into two components split along a northeast-southwest axis, consistent with previous X-ray observations. The mean redshift of the cluster core is found to be $0.0594 \pm 0.0005$ and the core velocity dispersion is given as $1462^{+99}_{-99}$ kms$^{-1}$. The overall velocity dispersion and redshift of the entire cluster and related structures are $1337^{+67}_{-67}$ kms$^{-1}$ and $0.0596 \pm 0.0002$, respectively, though the high velocity dispersion does not represent virialised motions but rather is due to relative motions of the cluster components. We posit A3266 is seen following a merger along the northeast southwest axis, however, the rich substructure in the rest of the cluster suggests that the dynamical history is more complex than just a simple merger with a range of continuous dynamical interactions taking place. It is thus likely that turbulence in A3266 is very high, even for a merging cluster., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

We present the first Murchison Widefield Array observations of the well-known cluster of galaxies Abell 3667 (A3667) between 105 and 241 MHz. A3667 is one of the best known examples of a galaxy cluster hosting a double radio relic and has been reported to contain a faint radio halo and bridge. The origins of radio halos, relics and bridges is still unclear, however galaxy cluster mergers seems to be an important factor. We clearly detect the North-West (NW) and South-East (SE) radio relics in A3667 and find an integrated flux density at 149 MHz of 28.1 +/- 1.7 and 2.4 +/- 0.1 Jy, respectively, with an average spectral index, between 120 and 1400 MHz, of -0.9 +/- 0.1 for both relics. We find evidence of a spatial variation in the spectral index across the NW relic steepening towards the centre of the cluster, which indicates an ageing electron population. These properties are consistent with higher frequency observations. We detect emission that could be associated with a radio halo and bridge. How- ever, due to the presence of poorly sampled large-scale Galactic emission and blended point sources we are unable to verify the exact nature of these features., 17 pages, 11 figures

We examine the kinematic morphology of early-type galaxies (ETGs) in three galaxy clusters Abell 85, 168 and 2399. Using data from the Sydney-AAO Multi-object Integral field spectrograph (SAMI) we measured spatially-resolved kinematics for 79 ETGs in these clusters. We calculate $\lambda_{R}$, a proxy for the projected specific stellar angular momentum, for each galaxy and classify the 79 ETGs in our samples as fast or slow rotators. We calculate the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG populations ($f_{SR}$) of the clusters to be $0.21\pm0.08$, $0.08\pm0.08$ and $0.12\pm0.06$ for Abell 85, 168 and 2399 respectively, with an overall fraction of $0.15\pm0.04$. These numbers are broadly consistent with the values found in the literature, confirming recent work asserting that the fraction of slow rotators in the ETG population is constant across many orders of magnitude in global environment. We examine the distribution of kinematic classes in each cluster as a function of environment using the projected density of galaxies: the kinematic morphology-density relation. We find that in Abell 85 $f_{SR}$ increases in higher density regions but in Abell 168 and Abell 2399 this trend is not seen. We examine the differences between the individual clusters to explain this. In addition, we find slow rotators on the outskirts of two of the clusters studied, Abell 85 and 2399. These galaxies reside in intermediate to low density regions and have clearly not formed at the centre of a cluster environment. We hypothesise that they formed at the centres of groups and are falling into the clusters for the first time., Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Using the photometric and spectroscopic data from the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) and the Eighth Data Release of Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-DR8), we have studied the luminosity function (LF) of the galaxy cluster Abell 85 within the double dynamical radius 2 r 200 . It is shown that the LF of Abell 85 can be fitted very well with a Schechter function in all the 5 SDSS wavebands, and that the LF exhibits a dip in the u, g, and z bands, respectively. The best-fitting parameters (the characteristic absolute magnitude in the r band and the slope at the faint end of the LF) of the Schechter function are mag, and for the early-type galaxies, mag, and for the late-type galaxies, respectively. The LF of early-type galaxies shows a dip at mag. In addition, we have also investigated the LFs in the three concentric annuli within 1.5 r 200 , and found that the closer the distance from the cluster center, the steeper the faint-end slope, and the brighter the characteristic magnitude.

In this paper we analyze the peculiar radio structure observed across the central region of the galaxy cluster Abell 585 (z=0.12). In the low-resolution radio maps, this structure appears uniform and diffuse on angular scales of ~3 arcmin, and is seemingly related to the distant (z=2.5) radio quasar B3 0727+409 rather than to the cluster itself. However, after a careful investigation of the unpublished archival radio data with better angular resolution, we resolve the structure into two distinct arcmin-scale features, which resemble typical lobes of cluster radio galaxies with no obvious connection to the background quasar. We support this conclusion by examining the spectral and polarization properties of the features, demonstrating in addition that the analyzed structure can hardly be associated with any sort of a radio mini-halo or relics of the cluster. Yet at the same time we are not able to identify host galaxies of the radio lobes in the available optical and infrared surveys. We consider some speculative explanations for our findings, including gravitational wave recoil kicks of SMBHs responsible for the lobes' formation in the process of merging massive ellipticals within the central parts of a rich cluster environment, but we do not reach any robust conclusions regarding the origin of the detected radio features., Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Observed galaxy clusters often exhibit X-ray morphologies suggestive of recent interaction with an infalling subcluster. Abell 3376 is a nearby (z=0.046) massive galaxy cluster whose bullet-shaped X-ray emission indicates that it may have undergone a recent collision. It displays a pair of Mpc-scale radio relics and its brightest cluster galaxy is located 970 h_70^-1 kpc away from the peak of X-ray emission, where the second brightest galaxy lies. We attempt to recover the dynamical history of Abell 3376. We perform a set of N-body adiabatic hydrodynamical simulations using the SPH code Gadget-2. These simulations of binary cluster collisions are aimed at exploring the parameter space of possible initial configurations. By attempting to match X-ray morphology, temperature, virial mass and X-ray luminosity, we set approximate constraints on some merger parameters. Our best models suggest a collision of clusters with mass ratio in the range 1/6-1/8, and having a subcluster with central gas density four times higher than that of the major cluster. Models with small impact parameter (b, 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS

Abell 2146 consists of two galaxy clusters that have recently collided close to the plane of the sky, and it is unique in showing two large shocks on $\textit{Chandra X-ray Observatory}$ images. With an early stage merger, shortly after first core passage, one would expect the cluster galaxies and the dark matter to be leading the X-ray emitting plasma. In this regard, the cluster Abell 2146-A is very unusual in that the X-ray cool core appears to lead, rather than lag, the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) in their trajectories. Here we present a strong lensing analysis of multiple image systems identified on $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$ images. In particular, we focus on the distribution of mass in Abell 2146-A in order to determine the centroid of the dark matter halo. We use object colours and morphologies to identify multiple image systems; very conservatively, four of these systems are used as constraints on a lens mass model. We find that the centroid of the dark matter halo, constrained using the strongly lensed features, is coincident with the BCG, with an offset of $\approx$ 2 kpc between the centres of the dark matter halo and the BCG. Thus from the strong lensing model, the X-ray cool core also leads the centroid of the dark matter in Abell 2146-A, with an offset of $\approx$ 30 kpc., 13 pages, 9 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Abell 2146 ($z$ = 0.232) consists of two galaxy clusters undergoing a major merger. The system was discovered in previous work, where two large shock fronts were detected using the $\textit{Chandra X-ray Observatory}$, consistent with a merger close to the plane of the sky, caught soon after first core passage. A weak gravitational lensing analysis of the total gravitating mass in the system, using the distorted shapes of distant galaxies seen with ACS-WFC on $\textit{Hubble Space Telescope}$, is presented. The highest peak in the reconstruction of the projected mass is centred on the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) in Abell 2146-A. The mass associated with Abell 2146-B is more extended. Bootstrapped noise mass reconstructions show the mass peak in Abell 2146-A to be consistently centred on the BCG. Previous work showed that BCG-A appears to lag behind an X-ray cool core; although the peak of the mass reconstruction is centred on the BCG, it is also consistent with the X-ray peak given the resolution of the weak lensing mass map. The best-fit mass model with two components centred on the BCGs yields $M_{200}$ = 1.1$^{+0.3}_{-0.4}$$\times$10$^{15}$M$_{\odot}$ and 3$^{+1}_{-2}$$\times$10$^{14}$M$_{\odot}$ for Abell 2146-A and Abell 2146-B respectively, assuming a mass concentration parameter of $c=3.5$ for each cluster. From the weak lensing analysis, Abell 2146-A is the primary halo component, and the origin of the apparent discrepancy with the X-ray analysis where Abell 2146-B is the primary halo is being assessed using simulations of the merger., Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, published in MNRAS

The unrivalled spatial resolution of the Chandra X-ray observatory has allowed many breakthroughs to be made in high energy astrophysics. Here we explore applications of Gaussian Gradient Magnitude (GGM) filtering to X-ray data, which dramatically improves the clarity of surface brightness edges in X-ray observations, and maps gradients in X-ray surface brightness over a range of spatial scales. In galaxy clusters, we find that this method is able to reveal remarkable substructure behind the cold fronts in Abell 2142 and Abell 496, possibly the result of Kelvin Helmholtz instabilities. In Abell 2319 and Abell 3667, we demonstrate that the GGM filter can provide a straightforward way of mapping variations in the widths and jump ratios along the lengths of cold fronts. We present results from our ongoing programme of analysing the Chandra and XMM-Newton archives with the GGM filter. In the Perseus cluster we identify a previously unseen edge around 850 kpc from the core to the east, lying outside a known large scale cold front, which is possibly a bow shock. In MKW 3s we find an unusual 'V' shape surface brightness enhancement starting at the cluster core, which may be linked to the AGN jet. In the Crab nebula a new, moving feature in the outer part of the torus is identified which moves across the plane of the sky at a speed of ~0.1c, and lies much further from the central pulsar than the previous motions seen by Chandra., 15 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

A major hurdle for modified gravity theories is to explain the dynamics of galaxy clusters. A case is made for a generalized gravitational theory called Scalar-Tensor-Vector-Gravity (STVG) or MOG (modified gravity) to explain merging cluster dynamics. The paper presents the results of a re-analysis of the Bullet Cluster, as well as an analysis of the Train Wreck Cluster in the weak gravitational field limit without dark matter. The King-$\beta$ model is used to fit the X-ray data of both clusters, and the $\kappa$-maps are computed using the parameters of this fit. The amount of galaxies in the clusters is estimated by subtracting the predicted $\kappa$-map from the $\kappa$-map data. The estimate for the Bullet Cluster is that $14.1\%$ of the cluster is composed of galaxies. For the Train Wreck Cluster, if the Jee et al. data are used, $25.7\%$ of the cluster is composed of galaxies. The baryon matter in the galaxies and the enhanced strength of gravitation in MOG, shift the lensing peaks making them offset from the gas. The work demonstrates that this generalized gravitational theory can explain merging cluster dynamics without dark matter., Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, final version

In this paper we present new AAOmega spectroscopy of 254 galaxies within a 30' radius around Abell 3888. We combine these data with the existing redshifts measured in a one degree radius around the cluster and performed a substructure analysis. We confirm 71 member galaxies within the core of A3888 and determine a new average redshift and velocity dispersion for the cluster of 0.1535 +\- 0.0009 and 1181 +\- 197 km/s, respectively. The cluster is elongated along an East-West axis and we find the core is bimodal along this axis with two sub-groups of 26 and 41 members detected. Our results suggest that A3888 is a merging system putting to rest the previous conjecture about the morphological status of the cluster derived from X-ray observations. In addition to the results on A3888 we also present six newly detected galaxy over-densities in the field, three of which we classify as new galaxy clusters., Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, Accepted to MNRAS 11 Feb 2016

We present the first results from an integral field (IFU) spectroscopic survey of a 75kpc region around three Brightest Cluster Galaxies (BCGs), combining over 100 IFU fibres to study the intracluster light (ICL). We fit population synthesis models to estimate age and metallicity. For Abell 85 and Abell 2457, the ICL is best-fit with a fraction of old, metal-rich stars like in the BCG, but requires 30-50% young and metal-poor stars, a component not found in the BCGs. This is consistent with the ICL having been formed by a combination of interactions with less massive, younger, more metal-poor cluster members in addition to stars that form the BCG. We find that the three galaxies are in different stages of evolution and may be the result of different formation mechanisms. The BCG in Abell 85 is near a relatively young, metal-poor galaxy, but the dynamical friction timescale is long and the two are unlikely to be undergoing a merger. The outer regions of Abell 2457 show a higher relative fraction of metal-poor stars, and we find one companion, with a higher fraction of young, metal-poor stars than the BCG, which is likely to merge within a gigayear. Several luminous red galaxies are found at the centre of the cluster IIZw108, with short merger timescales, suggesting the system is about to embark on a series of major mergers to build up a dominant BCG. The young, metal-poor component found in the ICL is not found in the merging galaxies., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, accepted to MNRAS

With Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) observations, we have discovered a diverse assembly of steep spectrum emission that is apparently associated with the intra cluster medium (ICM) of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 2034. Such a rich variety of complex emission associated with the ICM has been observed in few other clusters. This not only indicates that Abell 2034 is a more interesting and complex system than previously thought but it also demonstrates the importance of sensitive and high-resolution, low-frequency observations. These observations can reveal emission from relativistic particles which have been accelerated to sufficient energy to produce observable emission or have had their high energy maintained by mechanisms in the ICM. The most prominent feature in our maps is a bright bulb of emission connected to two steep spectrum filamentary structures, the longest of which extends perpendicular to the merger axis for 0.5Mpc across the south of the cluster. The origin of these objects is unclear, with no shock detected in the X-ray images and no obvious connection with cluster galaxies or AGNs. We also find that the X-ray bright region of the cluster coincides with a giant radio halo with an irregular morphology and a very steep spectrum. In addition, the cluster hosts up to three possible radio relics, which are misaligned with the cluster X-ray emission. Finally, we have identified multiple regions of emission with a very steep spectral index that seem to be associated with either tailed radio galaxies or a shock., 15 pages, 9 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in MNRAS

The cluster M67 (= NGC 2682) in Cancer is a rich stellar cluster, usually classified as an open cluster. Using our own observations with the 0.4 m telescope, we show that M67 is a tight group of about 1200 stars. The actual radius of the cluster is about 3.1 pc and the average mass of a star in the system is about . We also show that the ratio of the mean kinetic energy of the cluster to its mean gravitational potential energy , while the value predicted by the virial theorem is equal to . So the system is a gravitationally bound. This value of is considered as an evidence of quasi-stability of the cluster and allows us to use the Chandrasekhar-Spitzer relaxation time for M67 Myr as a characteristic dynamical relaxation time of the system. As the cluster is almost twice older its half-life time , it is argued that M67 was in the past (about 4 Gyr ago, close to its forma-tion) a relatively small ( stars) globular cluster, but got “open cluster” shape due to the dynamical evapora-tion of the majority of its stars.

Polarized radio emission is detected at various scales in the Universe. In this document, I will briefly review our knowledge on polarized radio sources in galaxy clusters and at their outskirts, emphasizing the crucial information provided by the polarized signal on the origin and evolution of such sources. Successively, I will focus on Abell 2255, which is known in the literature as the first cluster for which filamentary polarized emission associated with the radio halo has been detected. By using RM synthesis on our multi-wavelength WSRT observations, we studied the 3-dimensional geometry of the cluster, unveiling the nature of the polarized filaments at the borders of the central radio halo. Our analysis points out that these structures are relics lying at large distance from the cluster center.

We present a new 400ks Chandra X-ray observation and a GMRT radio observation at 325MHz of the merging galaxy cluster Abell 2146. The Chandra observation reveals detailed structure associated with the major merger event including the Mach M=2.1+/-0.2 bow shock located ahead of the dense subcluster core and the first known example of an upstream shock (M=1.6+/-0.1). Surprisingly, the deep GMRT observation at 325MHz does not detect any extended radio emission associated with either shock front. All other merging galaxy clusters with X-ray detected shock fronts, including the Bullet cluster, Abell 520, Abell 754 and Abell 2744, and clusters with candidate shock fronts have detected radio relics or radio halo edges coincident with the shocks. We consider several possible factors which could affect the formation of radio relics, including the shock strength and the presence of a pre-existing electron population, but do not find a favourable explanation for this result. We calculate a 3sigma upper limit of 13mJy on extended radio emission, which is significantly below the radio power expected by the observed P_{radio}-L_{X} correlation for merging systems. The lack of an extended radio halo in Abell 2146 maybe due to the low cluster mass relative to the majority of merging galaxy clusters with detected radio halos.

Abell 85 is a cD cluster of galaxies with the redshift of 0.055 in the southern hemisphere. Based on the spectroscopic data obtained by predecessors and the data of the SDSS (Sloan Digital Sky Survey), 370 member galaxies of the cluster are sieved by means of the 3 σ method and their dynamical states are analyzed. From the spatial distribution and the local line-of-sight velocity distribution of these member galaxies it is found that this cluster of galaxies contains 4 clear substructures and they are just in the process of pairwise coalescence. This shows that the cluster Abell 85 is in the actively dynamical state, far from reaching the dynamical equilibrium.

Conference paper Definitive article is available at: http://www3.interscience.wiley.com Copyright WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA. DOI: 10.1002/asna.200911263 [Full text of this article is not available in the UHRA]

Our modified gravity theory (MOG) was used successfully in the past to explain a range of astronomical and cosmological observations, including galaxy rotation curves, the CMB acoustic peaks, and the galaxy mass power spectrum. MOG was also used successfully to explain the unusual features of the Bullet Cluster 1E0657-558 without exotic dark matter. In the present work, we derive the relativistic equations of motion in the spherically symmetric field of a point source in MOG and, in particular, we derive equations for light bending and lensing. Our results also have broader applications in the case of extended distributions of matter, and they can be used to validate the Bullet Cluster results and provide a possible explanation for the merging clusters in Abell 520., 8 pages, 2 figures (final manuscript that corresponds to published version)

We present a multi-wavelength study of the merging history and its influence on galaxy activities of a newly detected merger candidate – Abell S0721. This cluster was only known as a poor cluster in the Shapley Supercluster, but when several survey data of different wavelengths are combined, evidence of strong merging is revealed. We have analyzed the optical and X-ray structures of the cluster, as well as galaxy dynamics and properties of the radio galaxies in the cluster. The dynamics analysis shows the velocity distribution of this system is significantly deviated from a 1-Gaussian model, indicating the existence of 2–3 dynamically different sub-systems; in addition, both optical and X-ray structures of the cluster show an elongated and multi-clump structure, two X-ray clumps imaged by ROSAT All Sky Survey are well correlated with two galaxy density peaks. This cluster is possibly a merger of several groups; our analysis shows that the projection angle for two clumps in the main structure is possibly near the projection plane, and the substructure is seen at ∼30–75° from the projection plane. The merging process could also be the origin to boost the activities of its member galaxies. Finally, as compared with other merger candidates in the Shapley Supercluster, the radio galaxies identified in Abell S0721 are all optically luminous, and the fraction of luminous radio galaxies is only lower than one merger candidate (which is proposed to be at the very beginning of a merger event), this suggests Abell S0721 is also at the beginning of a merger event.

Intercluster filaments negligibly contribute to the weak lensing signal in general relativity (GR), $\gamma_{N}\sim 10^{-4}-10^{-3}$. In the context of relativistic modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND) introduced by Bekenstein, however, a single filament inclined by $\approx 45^\circ$ from the line of sight can cause substantial distortion of background sources pointing towards the filament's axis ($\kappa=\gamma=(1-A^{-1})/2\sim 0.01$); this is rigorous for infinitely long uniform filaments, but also qualitatively true for short filaments ($\sim 30$Mpc), and even in regions where the projected matter density of the filament is equal to zero. Since galaxies and galaxy clusters are generally embedded in filaments or are projected on such structures, this contribution complicates the interpretation of the weak lensing shear map in the context of MOND. While our analysis is of mainly theoretical interest providing order-of-magnitude estimates only, it seems safe to conclude that when modeling systems with anomalous weak lensing signals, e.g. the "bullet cluster" of Clowe et al., the "cosmic train wreck" of Abell 520 from Mahdavi et al., and the "dark clusters" of Erben et al., filamentary structures might contribute in a significant and likely complex fashion. On the other hand, our predictions of a (conceptual) difference in the weak lensing signal could, in principle, be used to falsify MOND/TeVeS and its variations., Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, published version

Weak-lensing induced by clusters of galaxies can probe the total mass distribution out to the virial radius of the cluster, regardless of the nature of the mass or its dynamical state. To make a robust analysis, the cluster and background galaxy populations need to be separated. The E/S0 sequence of a cluster defines a boundary redward of which a reliable weak-lensing signal can be obtained from background galaxies, uncontaminated by the cluster. Below this limit, the signal is diluted by the proportion of unlensed cluster members. Employing deep Subaru and HST/ACS images of the massive cluster A1689, we use this dilution effect to carefully separate between the cluster members and the background, and thus derive the cluster light profile and luminosity functions to large radius. The light profile of A1689 is found to decline steadily to the limit of the data, r < 2 h−1 Mpc , with a constant slope, d log (L)/d log (r) = −1.12 ± 0.06. We derive a cluster luminosity function with a flat faint-end slope of α = −1.05 ± 0.07, nearly independent of radius and with no faint upturn to Mi′ < −12. The major advantage of this new approach is that no subtraction of far-field background counts is required.

The recent detection by Limousin et al. of five new strong lensing events dominated by galaxy cluster members in Abell 1689, and outside the critical regime of the cluster itself, offers a way to obtain constraints on the cluster mass distribution in a region inaccessible to standard lensing analysis. In addition, modelling such systems will provide another window on the dark matter haloes of galaxies in very dense environments. Here, it is shown that the boost in image separation due to the external shear and convergence from a smooth cluster component means that more numerous, less massive galaxies have the potential to create multiple images with detectable separations, relative to isolated field galaxies. This comes in addition to a potential increase in their lensing (source plane) cross-section. To gain insight into the factors involved and as a precursor to a numerical study using N-body simulations, a simple analytic model of a cluster at z = 0.3 lensing background galaxies at z = 2 is considered here. The fiducial model has cluster members with isothermal density profiles and luminosities L, distributed in a Schechter function (faint-end slope v =-1.25), related to their velocity dispersions a via the Faber-Jackson scaling L α σ 4 . Just outside the critical regime of the cluster, the scale of galaxy-dominated image separations is significantly increased. Folding in the fact that less massive galaxies present a lower lensing cross-section, and that the cross-section can itself be enhanced in an external field leads to a factor of a few times more detected events relative to field galaxies. These values will be higher closer to the critical curve. Given that the events in Abell 1689 were detected over a very small region of the cluster where ACS data were available, this motivates the search for such events in other clusters.

We investigate the Luminosity Function (LF) of the cluster of galaxies Abell 566. The photometric data of 15 intermediate-bands are obtained from the Beijing-Arizona-Taiwan-Connecticut (BATC) photometric sky survey. For each of the 15 wavebands, the LF of cluster galaxies is well modelled by the Schechter function, with characteristic luminosities from –18.0 to –21.9 magnitude, from the a- to the p-band. Morphological dependence of the LF is investigated by separating the cluster members into `red' and `blue' subsamples. It is clear that late type galaxies have a steeper shape of LF than the early type galaxies. We also divided the sample galaxies by their local environment. It was found that galaxies in the sparser region have steeper shape of LF than galaxies in the denser region. Combining the results of morphological and environmental dependence of LFs, we show that Abell 566 is a well relaxed cluster with positive evidence of galaxy interaction and merger, and excess number of bright early type galaxies located in its denser region.

Measurements of the intracluster gas temperatures out to large radii, where much of the cluster mass resides, are of the utmost importance for the use of clusters in precision cosmology and for studies of cluster physics. Previous attempts to measure temperatures at the cluster virial radius have failed. The preliminary results from the Suzaku observation of Abell 2204 reported here show that such measurements appear feasible now for the first time, if care is taken to account for background and PSF effects.

We present a high-precision mass model of galaxy cluster Abell 2744, based on a strong-gravitational-lensing analysis of the \emph{Hubble Space Telescope Frontier Fields} (HFF) imaging data, which now include both \emph{Advanced Camera for Surveys} and \emph{Wide-Field Camera 3} observations to the final depth. Taking advantage of the unprecedented depth of the visible and near-infrared data, we identify 34 new multiply imaged galaxies, bringing the total to 61, comprising 181 individual lensed images. In the process, we correct previous erroneous identifications and positions of multiple systems in the northern part of the cluster core. With the \textsc{Lenstool} software and the new sets of multiple images, we model the cluster using two cluster-scale dark matter halos plus galaxy-scale halos for the cluster members. Our best-fit model predicts image positions with an \emph{RMS} error of 0.69$\arcsec$, which constitutes an improvement by almost a factor of two over previous parametric models of this cluster. We measure the total projected mass inside a 200~kpc aperture as ($2.162\pm 0.005$)$\times 10^{14}M_{\odot}$, thus reaching 1\% level precision for the second time, following the recent HFF measurement of MACSJ0416.1-2403. Importantly, the higher quality of the mass model translates into an overall improvement by a factor of 4 of the derived magnification factor. % for the high-redshift lensed background galaxies. Together with our previous HFF gravitational lensing analysis, this work demonstrates that the HFF data enables high-precision mass measurements for massive galaxy clusters and the derivation of robust magnification maps to probe the early Universe., 11 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables, Accepted for publication in MNRAS. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1405.3582

This article begins with a general introduction to galaxy formation and evolution and ends with a discussion of the long-term spectroscopic study: The Role of Close Companions in the Formation of Brightest Cluster Galaxies and Intracluster Light. To illustrate the power, goals and aims of this larger project, preliminary data for one of the galaxy clusters in our sample is presented, Abell 407, which appears to be caught in the act of forming its Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG).

Abell 3667 is among the most well-studied galaxy clusters in the Southern Hemisphere. It is known to host two giant radio relics and a head-tail radio galaxy as the brightest cluster galaxy. Recent work has suggested the additional presence of a bridge of diffuse synchrotron emission connecting the North-Western radio relic with the cluster centre. In this work, we present full-polarization observations of Abell 3667 conducted with the Karoo Array Telescope at 1.33 and 1.82 GHz. Our results show both radio relics as well as the brightest cluster galaxy. We use ancillary higher-resolution data to subtract the emission from this galaxy, revealing a localised excess, which we tentatively identify as a radio mini-halo. This mini-halo candidate has an integrated flux density of $67.2\pm4.9$ mJy beam$^{-1}$ at 1.37 GHz, corresponding to a radio power of P$_{\rm{1.4\,GHz}}=4.28\pm0.31\times10^{23}$ W Hz$^{-1}$, consistent with established trends in mini-halo power scaling., 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted MNRAS

Major mergers between massive clusters have a profound effect in the intracluster gas, which may be used as a probe of the dynamics of structure formation at the high end of the mass function. An example of such a merger is observed at the northern component of Abell 1758, comprised of two massive sub-clusters separated by approximately 750 kpc. One of the clusters exhibits an offset between the dark matter and the intra cluster gas. We aim to determine whether it is possible to reproduce the specific morphologic al features of this cluster by means of a major merger. We perform dedicated SPH (smoothed particle hydrodynamics) N -body simulations in an attempt to simultaneously recover several observed features of Abell 1758, such as the X-ray morphology and the separation between the two peaks in the projected galaxy luminosity map. We propose a specific scenario for the off-axis collision of two massive clusters. This model adequately reproduces several observed features and suggests that Abell 1758 is seen approximately 0.4 Gyr after the first peric entric passage, and that the clusters are already approaching their maximum separation. This means that their relative velocity is as low as 380 km s 1 . At the same time, the simulated model entails shock waves of �4500 km s 1 , which are currently undetected presumably due to the low-density medium. We explain the difference between these velocities and argue that the predicted shock fronts, while plausible, cannot be detected from currently available dat a.

We present an analysis of the spatial orientations of 323 galaxies in the cluster Abell 3558. Our aim is to examine non-random effects in galaxy orientations in the subsample of the cluster. The “position angle–inclination” method is used to find the threedimensional rotation axes. To check for anisotropy or isotropy we carried out three statistical tests: Fourier, Kolmogorov-Smirnov, and Kuiper-V. We assumed a spatially isotropic distribution to examine non-random effects. The galaxies found in the investigated cluster region show isotropy in both two- and three-dimensional analyses of the galactic coordinate system. In addition, it is found that the overall isotropic appearance cannot be maintained when looking at the subsamples. The low radial-velocity galaxies in A 3558 showed anisotropy in both two- and three-dimensional analyses. A weak anisotropy is noticed in the hard X-ray emission region. Few subsamples shows similar alignments with respect to both the galactic and Supergalactic coordinate systems. We offer possible explanations of these anisotropies.

Aims. We present the results of substructure detection on a large sample of Abell clusters. Methods. We apply the wavelet transform to positions of galaxies in 183 Abell clusters. The significance of the substructuring detected was determined using Monte Carlo simulations on sets of 1000 randomly generated distributions of galaxies for each cluster and wavelet scale. Results. 62 of the investigated clusters are strongly substructured; the frequency of occurrence of substructure is 0.34. The investigated clusters were classified as unimodal, bimodal or complex systems. The clusters were divided into clusters having substructures in the field of the cluster S f or in the core region S c . The Kolmogorov-Sminiov test show no significant differences at the level a = 0.05 in the distribution of clusters having S c and S f substructures with redshift. Using a Χ 2 test we found no correlation between the existence of subclustering and the morphological type of galaxy clusters.

We revisit the XMM-Newton observation of the galaxy cluster Abell 1650 with a deprojection technique. We find that the radial deprojected spectra of Abell 1650 can be marginally fitted by a single-temperature model. In order to study the properties of the central gas, we fit the spectra of the central two regions with a two-temperature model. The fits then become significantly better and the cool gas about 1 similar to 2 keV can be connected with the gas cooling. Fitting the central spectrum (r

We present an analysis of the spatial orientations of 1315 galaxies in 10 Abell clusters of BM type II‐III (type II‐III in the Bautz‐Morgan system). It is found that the spin-vector orientations of the galaxies in six clusters (Abell 168, 426, 1035, 1227, 1367 and 1904) tend to lie parallel to the Local Supercluster (LSC) plane. The spin-vector projections of galaxies in six clusters (Abell 168, 1020, 1035, 1227, 1904 and 1920) are found to be oriented perpendicular with respect to the direction of the LSC centre. Three clusters (Abell 1920, 2255 and 2256) show a bimodal orientation: spin vectors tend to be oriented both parallel and perpendicular to the LSC plane. No dependence of radial velocity, distance and cluster magnitude on galaxy orientation is noticed. In a comparison with previous work, we noticed that the anisotropy might increase from early-type (BM type I) to late-type (BM types II‐III and III) clusters. We notice a vanishing angular momentum for the less massive galaxy clusters (richness class 0). A significant alignment of the angular momenta of galaxies for massive clusters, e.g. the core of the Shapley Supercluster (richness class 4, M > 10 15 M� ), is found.

Extended steep-spectrum radio emission in a galaxy cluster is usually associated with a recent merger. However, given the complex scenario of galaxy cluster mergers, many of the discovered sources hardly fit into the strict boundaries of a precise taxonomy. This is especially true for radio phoenixes that do not have very well defined observational criteria. Radio phoenixes are aged radio galaxy lobes whose emission is reactivated by compression or other mechanisms. Here, we present the detection of a radio phoenix close to the moment of its formation. The source is located in Abell 1033, a peculiar galaxy cluster which underwent a recent merger. To support our claim, we present unpublished Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope and Chandra observations together with archival data from the Very Large Array and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. We discover the presence of two sub-clusters displaced along the N-S direction. The two sub-clusters probably underwent a recent merger which is the cause of a moderately perturbed X-ray brightness distribution. A steep-spectrum extended radio source very close to an AGN is proposed to be a newly born radio phoenix: the AGN lobes have been displaced/compressed by shocks formed during the merger event. This scenario explains the source location, morphology, spectral index, and brightness. Finally, we show evidence of a density discontinuity close to the radio phoenix and discuss the consequences of its presence., accepted MNRAS

We report an analysis of the kinematic properties of stars in the old open cluster M67 based on proper motions taken from a master catalog made up of nine different catalogs containing proper motions of stars in the cluster field. A modified Sanders method is used to identify 511 probable cluster members. The dependence of the mean radial components of the proper motions of cluster members on clustercentric radius indicates that the cluster core is expanding with a velocity of 0.4 km/s. The radial dependence of the mean tangential components of the proper motions suggests the possible rotation of the cluster core. The dispersions of the velocity components of the cluster members show no evidence for the dominance of elongated stellar orbits in the cluster. The kinetic energy of the cluster stars depends strongly on their mass.