Search

Methods. We utilized the combined five SRG/eROSITA All-Sky Survey data (eRASS:5) to perform X-ray imaging and spectral analyses of the Centaurus cluster in various directions to large radii. Surface brightness (SB) profiles out to $2R_{200}$ were constructed. We acquired gas temperature, metallicity, and normalization per area profiles out to $R_{200}$. We compared our results with previous Centaurus studies, cluster outskirts measurements, and simulations. Comprehensive sky background analysis was done across the FoV, in particular, to assess the variation of the eROSITA Bubble emission that partially contaminates the field. Results. The processed X-ray images show the known sloshing-induced structures in the core. The core ($r\leq11~\mathrm{kpc}$) is better described with a 2T model than a 1T model. Here, we measured lower T from the cooler component (~1.0 keV) and higher Z ($\sim\!1.6Z_\odot$), signifying an iron bias. In the intermediate radial range, we observed prominent SB and normalization per area excesses in the eastern sector (Cen 45 location), reaching out to $R_{500}$. Temperature enhancements near the location of Cen 45 imply that the gas is shock-heated due to the interaction with Cen 30, the significant excess behind Cen 45 center might be the tail/ram-pressure-stripped gas. We found good agreement between the outskirt temperatures with the profile from simulations and fit from Suzaku outskirts measurements. We detected significant SB emission to the sky background level out to $R_{200}$ with a $3.5\sigma$ and followed by $2.9\sigma$ at $1.1R_{200}$. The metallicity at $R_{500}-R_{200}$ is low but within the ranges of other outskirts studies. Conclusions. We present the first measurement of ICM morphology and properties of Centaurus cluster sampling the whole azimuth beyond $30'$, increasing the probed volume by a factor of almost 30., Comment: Submitted to the Astronomy & Astrophysics journal: 19 pages, 10 figures (main text), 2 figure (appendix)

We aim to participate in the calibration of the X-ray photon count rate to halo mass scaling relation of galaxy clusters selected in the first eROSITA All-Sky Survey on the Western Galactic Hemisphere (eRASS1) using KiDS-1000 weak-lensing (WL) data. We measure the radial shear profiles around eRASS1 galaxy clusters using background galaxies in KiDS-1000, as well as the cluster member contamination. Furthermore we provide consistency checks with the other stage-III WL surveys who take part in the eRASS1 mass calibration, DES Y3 and HSC-Y3. We determine the cluster member contamination of eRASS1 clusters present in KiDS-1000 based on source number density profiles, where we account for the obscuration caused by cluster galaxies. The extracted shear profiles, together with the contamination model and the lens sample selection, are then analysed through a Bayesian population model. We calibrate the WL mass bias parameter by analysing realistic synthetic shear profiles from mock cluster catalogues. Our consistency checks between KiDS-1000 and DES Y3 & HSC-Y3 include the comparison of contamination-corrected density contrast profiles employing the union of background sources around common clusters, as well as the individual scaling relation results. We present a global contamination model for eRASS1 clusters in KiDS-1000 and the calibration results of the X-ray photon count rate to halo mass relation. The results of the WL mass bias parameter show that the uncertainty of the multiplicative shear bias dominates the systematic error budget at low clusters redshifts while the uncertainty of our contamination model does at high ones. The cross-checks between the three WL surveys show that they are statistically consistent with each other. This enables for the first time cosmological constraints from clusters calibrated by three state-of-the-art WL surveys. (abridged), Comment: 22 pages, 23 figures

Aims. We aim to characterize the gas properties in the cluster outskirts ($R_{500}R_{200}$) of the A3391/95 system and to compare them to predictions. Methods. We performed X-ray image and spectral analyses using the eROSITA PV data to assess the gas morphology and properties in the outskirts and the filaments in the directions of the previously detected Northern and Southern Filament of the A3391/95 system. We took particular care of the foreground. Results. In the filament-facing outskirts of A3391 and the Northern Clump, we find higher temperatures than typical cluster outskirts profiles, with a significance of $1.6-2.8\sigma$, suggesting heating due to their connections with the filaments. We confirm SB excess in the profiles of the Northern, Eastern, and Southern Filaments. From spectral analysis, we detect hot gas of ~1 keV for the Northern and Southern Filaments. The filament metallicities are below 10% solar metallicity and the $n_e$ range between 2.6 and $6.3\times10^{-5}~\mathrm{cm^{-3}}$. The characteristic properties of the Little Southern Clump (~1.5$R_{200}$ from A3395S in the Southern Filament) suggest that it is a small galaxy group. Excluding the LSC from the analysis of the Southern Filament decreases the gas density by 30%. This shows the importance of taking into account any clumps to avoid overestimation of the gas measurement in the outskirts and filament regions. Conclusions. The $n_e$ of the filaments are consistent with the WHIM properties as predicted by cosmological simulations, but the temperatures are higher, close to the upper WHIM temperature limit. As both filaments are short and located in a denser environment, stronger gravitational heating may be responsible for this temperature enhancement. The metallicities are low, but still within the expected range from the simulations., Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysics: 17 pages, 6 figures (main text), 1 figure (appendix)

The eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS), executed during the performance verification phase of the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG)/eROSITA telescope, was completed in Nov. 2019. One of the science goals of this survey is to demonstrate the ability of eROSITA to detect samples of clusters and groups at the final depth of the eROSITA all-sky survey. Because of the sizeable point-spread function of eROSITA, high-redshift clusters of galaxies or compact nearby groups hosting bright active galactic nuclei (AGN) can be misclassified as point sources by the source detection algorithms. A total of 346 galaxy clusters and groups in the redshift range of 0.1

We investigate the scaling relations between X-ray observables of the clusters detected in the eFEDS field using Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma/eROSITA observations taking into account the selection effects and the distributions of observables with cosmic time. We extract X-ray observables (Lx, Lbol, T, Mgas, Yx) within R500 for the sample of 542 clusters in the eFEDS field. By applying detection and extent likelihoods, we construct a subsample of 265 clusters with a contamination level of <10% (including AGNs and spurious fluctuations) to be utilized in the scaling relation analysis. The selection function based on the state-of-the-art simulations of the eROSITA sky is fully accounted for in our work. We provide the X-ray observables in the core-included 3sigma confidence level however, our results are in good agreement with the simulations including non-gravitational physics and the recent results that take into account selection effects. Strong deviations we find from the self-similar scenario indicate that the non-gravitational effects play an important role in shaping the observed physical state of clusters. This work extends the scaling relations to low mass, low luminosity galaxy cluster and group regime using eFEDS observations, demonstrating eROSITA's ability to measure ICM emission out to R500 with survey-depth exposures and constrain the scaling relations in a wide mass-luminosity-redshift range., Comment: 35 pages, 7 figures, 5 tables, Submitted to A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission

We present the first weak-lensing mass calibration and X-ray scaling relations of galaxy clusters and groups selected in the $eROSITA$ Final Equatorial Depth Survey (eFEDS) observed by Spectrum Roentgen Gamma/$eROSITA$ over a contiguous footprint with an area of $\approx140$ deg$^2$, using the three-year (S19A) weak-lensing data from the Hyper Suprime-Cam (HSC) Subaru Strategic Program survey. In this work, a sample of $434$ optically confirmed galaxy clusters (and groups) at redshift $0.01\lesssim z \lesssim1.3$ with a median of $0.35$ is studied, of which $313$ systems are uniformly covered by the HSC survey to enable the extraction of the weak-lensing shear observable. In a Bayesian population modelling, we perform a blind analysis for the weak-lensing mass calibration by simultaneously modelling the observed count rate $\eta$ and the shear profile $g$ of individual clusters through the count rate-to-mass-and-redshift ($\eta$--$M_{500}$--$z$) and weak-lensing mass-to-mass-and-redshift ($M_{\mathrm{WL}}$--$M_{500}$--$z$) relations, respectively, while accounting for the bias in these observables using simulation-based calibrations. As a result, the count rate-inferred and lensing-calibrated cluster mass is obtained from the joint modelling of the scaling relations, as the ensemble mass spanning a range of $10^{13}h^{-1}M_{\odot}\lesssim M_{500}\lesssim10^{15} h^{-1}M_{\odot}$ with a median of $\approx10^{14} h^{-1}M_{\odot}$ for the eFEDS sample. With the mass calibration, we further model the X-ray observable-to-mass-and-redshift relations, including the rest-frame soft-band and bolometric luminosity ($L_{\mathrm{X}}$ and $L_{\mathrm{b}}$), the emission-weighted temperature $T_{\mathrm{X}}$, the mass of intra-cluster medium $M_{\mathrm{g}}$, and the mass proxy $Y_{\mathrm{X}}$, which is the product of $T_{\mathrm{X}}$ and $M_{\mathrm{g}}$. (abridged), Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A. Submitted to A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission

SRG/eROSITA PV observations revealed the A3391/95 cluster system and the Northern Clump (MCXC J0621.7-5242 galaxy cluster) are aligning along a cosmic filament in soft X-rays, similarly to what has been seen in simulations before. We aim to understand the dynamical state of the Northern Clump as it enters the atmosphere ($3\times R_{200}$) of A3391. We analyzed joint eROSITA, XMM-Newton, and Chandra observations to probe the morphological, thermal, and chemical properties of the Northern Clump from its center out to a radius of 988 kpc ($R_{200}$). We utilized the ASKAP/EMU radio data, DECam optical image, and Planck y-map to study the influence of the WAT radio source on the Northern Clump central ICM. From the Magneticum simulation, we identified an analog of the A3391/95 system along with an infalling group resembling the Northern Clump. The Northern Clump is a WCC cluster centered on a WAT radio galaxy. The gas temperature over $0.2-0.5R_{500}$ is $k_BT_{500}=1.99\pm0.04$ keV. We employed the $M-T$ scaling relation and obtained a mass estimate of $M_{500}=(7.68\pm0.43)\times10^{13}M_{\odot}$ and $R_{500}=(636\pm12)$ kpc. Its atmosphere has a boxy shape and deviates from spherical symmetry. We identify a southern surface brightness edge, likely caused by subsonic motion relative to the filament gas. At $\sim\! R_{500}$, the southern atmosphere appears to be 42% hotter than its northern atmosphere. We detect a downstream tail pointing toward the north with a projected length of $\sim318$ kpc, plausibly the result of ram pressure stripping. The analog group in the Magneticum simulation is experiencing changes in its gas properties and a shift between the position of the halo center and that of the bound gas while approaching the main cluster pair., Comment: 24 pages, 17 figures (main text), 6 figures (appendix). Submitted to A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission. For more information, see https://astro.uni-bonn.de/~averonica/NorthernClump/eROSITA_A3391_Northern_Clump_AIfA.html

We investigated the origin and gas properties of a simulated galaxy cluster pair, to connect simulation predictions to the SRG/eROSITA X-ray observations of the Abell 3391/95 field. The simulated system has been extracted from the (352 cMpc/h)^3 volume of the Magneticum Pathfinder cosmological simulations at z=0.07. We tracked back in time the main progenitors of the pair clusters and surrounding groups to study the assembly history of the system and its evolution. Similarly to the observed A3391/95 system, the simulated pair is embedded in a complex network of gas filaments, with structures aligned over more than 20 projected Mpc and the whole region collapsing towards the central overdense node. The spheres of influence (3*R200) of the two main clusters already overlap at z=0.07, but their virial boundaries are still physically separated. The diffuse gas located in the interconnecting bridge closely reflects the WHIM, with typical temperature of ~1 keV and overdensity $\sim 100$, with respect to the mean baryon density of the Universe, and lower enrichment level compared to the ICM in clusters. We find that most of the bridge gas collapsed from directions roughly orthogonal to the intra-cluster gas accretion directions, and its origin is mostly unrelated to the two cluster progenitors. We find clear signatures in the surrounding groups of infall motion towards the pair, such as significant radial velocities and slowdown of gas compared to dark matter. These findings further support the picture of the Northern Clump (MCXC J0621.7-5242) cluster infalling along a cosmic gas filament towards Abell 3391, possibly merging with it. We conclude that, in such a configuration, the pair clusters of the A3391/95-like system are in a pre-merger phase, and did not interact yet. The diffuse gas in the interconnecting bridge is mostly warm filament gas, rather than tidally-stripped cluster gas., Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures in the main text; 2 pages, 2 figures as appendices. Improved version after referee report. Submitted to A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission

The eROSITA X-ray telescope on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) satellite has started to detect new X-ray sources over the full sky at an unprecedented rate. Understanding the performance and selection function of the source detection is important for the subsequent scientific analysis of the eROSITA catalogs. Through simulations, we test and optimize the eROSITA source detection procedures, and we characterize the detected catalog quantitatively. Taking the eROSITA Final Equatorial-Depth Survey (eFEDS) as an example, we ran extensive photon-event simulations based on our best knowledge of the instrument characteristics, the background spectrum, and the population of astronomical X-ray sources. We introduce a method of analyzing source detection completeness, purity, and efficiency based on the origin of each photon. According to the source detection efficiency measured in the simulation, we chose a two-pronged strategy to build eROSITA X-ray catalogs, creating a main catalog using only the most sensitive band (0.2-2.3 keV) and an independent hard-band-selected catalog using multiband detection in a range up to 5 keV. Because our mock data are highly representative of the real eFEDS data, we used the mock catalogs to measure the completeness and purity of the eFEDS catalogs as a function of multiple parameters, such as detection likelihood, flux, and luminosity. These measurements provide a basis for choosing the eFEDS catalog selection thresholds. The mock catalogs (available with this paper) can be used to construct the selection function of active galactic nuclei and galaxy clusters. A direct comparison of the output and input mock catalogs also gives rise to a correction curve that converts the raw point-source flux distribution into the intrinsic number counts distribution., Comment: Accepted by A&A for the Special Issue: The Early Data Release of eROSITA and Mikhail Pavlinsky ART-XC on the SRG Mission

The on-going X-ray all-sky survey with the eROSITA instrument will yield large galaxy cluster samples, which will bring strong constraints on cosmological parameters. In particular, the survey holds great promise to investigate the tension between CMB and low-redshift measurements. The current bottleneck preventing the full exploitation of the survey data is the systematics associated with the relation between survey observable and halo mass. Numerous recent studies have shown that gas mass and core-excised X-ray luminosity exhibit very low scatter at fixed mass. We propose a new method to reconstruct these quantities from low photon count data and validate the method using extensive eROSITA-like simulations. We find that even near the detection threshold of ~50 counts the core-excised luminosity and the gas mass can be recovered with 20-30% precision, which is substantially less than the scatter of the full integrated X-ray luminosity at fixed mass. When combined with an accurate calibration of the absolute mass scale (e.g. through weak gravitational lensing), our technique reduces the systematics on cosmological parameters induced by the mass calibration., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, published in the Open Journal of Astrophysics ; Code available on https://github.com/domeckert/pyproffit

The eROSITA X-ray telescope on board the Spectrum-Roentgen-Gamma (SRG) mission will measure the position and properties of about 100,000 clusters of galaxies and 3 million active galactic nuclei over the full sky. To study the statistical properties of this ongoing survey, it is key to estimate the selection function accurately. We create a set of full sky light-cones using the MultiDark and UNIT dark matter only N-body simulations. We present a novel method to predict the X-ray emission of galaxy clusters. Given a set of dark matter halo properties (mass, redshift, ellipticity, offset parameter), we construct an X-ray emissivity profile and image for each halo in the light-cone. We follow the eROSITA scanning strategy to produce a list of X-ray photons on the full sky. We predict scaling relations for the model clusters, which are in good agreement with the literature. The predicted number density of clusters as a function of flux also agrees with previous measurements. Finally, we obtain a scatter of 0.21 (0.07, 0.25) for the X-ray luminosity -- mass (temperature -- mass, luminosity -- temperature) model scaling relations. We provide catalogues with the model photons emitted by clusters and active galactic nuclei. These catalogues will aid the eROSITA end to end simulation flow analysis and in particular the source detection process and cataloguing methods., Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures, accepted in the open journal of astrophysics

We present the first metal abundance profiles for a representative sample of massive clusters. Our measures extend to $R_{500}$ and are corrected for a systematic error plaguing previous outskirt estimates. Our profiles flatten out at large radii, admittedly not a new result, however the radial range and representative nature of our sample extends its import well beyond previous findings. We find no evidence of segregation between cool-core and non-cool-core systems beyond $\sim 0.3 R_{500}$, implying that, as was found for thermodynamic properties (Ghirardini et al, 2019), the physical state of the core does not affect global cluster properties. Our mean abundance within $R_{500}$ shows a very modest scatter, $< $15%, suggesting the enrichment process must be quite similar in all these massive systems. This is a new finding and has significant implications on feedback processes. Together with results from thermodynamic properties presented in a previous X-COP paper, it affords a coherent picture where feedback effects do not vary significantly from one system to another. By combing ICM with stellar measurements we have found the amount of Fe diffused in the ICM to be about ten times higher than that locked in stars. Although our estimates suggest, with some strength, that the measured iron mass in clusters is well in excess of the predicted one, systematic errors prevent us from making a definitive statement. Further advancements will only be possible when systematic uncertainties, principally those associated to stellar masses, both within and beyond $R_{500}$, can be reduced., Comment: 23 pages, 23 figures; submitted to A&A

Using the largest mosaic of Hubble Space Telescope images around a galaxy cluster, we map the distribution of dark matter throughout a $\sim$$6\times6$ Mpc$^2$ area centred on the cluster MS 0451-03 ($z=0.54$, $M_{200}=1.65\times10^{15} \rm{M}_\odot$). Our joint strong- and weak-lensing analysis shows three possible filaments extending from the cluster, encompassing six group-scale substructures. The dark-matter distribution in the cluster core is elongated, consists of two distinct components, and is characterized by a concentration parameter of $c_{200}=3.79\pm0.36$. By contrast, XMM-Newton observations show the gas distribution to be more spherical, with excess entropy near the core, and a lower concentration of $c_{200}=2.35^{+0.89}_{-0.70}$ (assuming hydrostatic equilibrium). Such a configuration is predicted in simulations of major mergers 2-7Gyr after the first core passage, when the two dark-matter halos approach second turnaround, and before their gas has relaxed. This post-merger scenario finds further support in optical spectroscopy of the cluster's member galaxies, which shows that star formation was abruptly quenched 5 Gyr ago. MS 0451-03 will be an ideal target for future studies of the growth of structure along filaments, star-formation processes after a major merger, and the late-stage evolution of cluster collisions., Comment: 21 pages, 13 figures, updated to match MNRAS version

We simulate stacked observations of nearby hot X-ray coronae associated with galaxies in the EAGLE and Illustris-TNG hydrodynamic simulations. A forward modeling pipeline is developed to predict 4-year eROSITA observations and stacked image analysis, including the effects of instrumental and astrophysical backgrounds. We propose an experiment to stack z~0.01 galaxies separated by specific star-formation rate (sSFR) to examine how the hot (T>=10^6 K) circumgalactic medium (CGM) differs for high- and low-sSFR galaxies. The simulations indicate that the hot CGM of low-mass (M_*~10^{10.5} Msol), high-sSFR (defined as the top one-third ranked by sSFR) central galaxies will be detectable to a galactocentric radius r~30-50 kpc. Both simulations predict lower luminosities at fixed stellar mass for the low-sSFR galaxies (the lower third of sSFR) with Illustris-TNG predicting 3x brighter coronae around high-sSFR galaxies than EAGLE. Both simulations predict detectable emission out to r~150-200 kpc for stacks centered on high-mass (M_*~10^{11.0} Msol) galaxies, with EAGLE predicting brighter X-ray halos. The extended soft X-ray luminosity correlates strongly and positively with the mass of circumgalactic gas within the virial radius (f_{CGM}). Prior analyses of both simulations have established that f_{CGM} is reduced by expulsive feedback driven mainly by black hole growth, which quenches galaxy growth by inhibiting replenishment of the ISM. Both simulations predict that eROSITA stacks should not only conclusively detect and resolve the hot CGM around L^* galaxies for the first time, but provide a powerful probe of how the baryon cycle operates, for which there remains an absence of consensus between state-of-the-art simulations., Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Accepted ApJL

One key ingredient in using galaxy clusters (GCs) as a precision cosmological probe in large X-ray surveys is to understand selection effects. The dependence of the X-ray emission on the square of the gas density leads to a predominant role of cool cores in the detection of GCs. The contribution of cool cores to the X-ray luminosity does not scale with GC mass and cosmology and therefore affects the use of X-ray GCs in producing cosmological constraints. One of the main science goals of the eROSITA mission is to constrain cosmology with a wide X-ray survey. We propose an eROSITA GC detection scheme that avoids the use of X-ray GC centers in detection. We calculate theoretical expectations and characterize the performance of this scheme by simulations. Performing realistic simulations of point sources (PSs) in survey mode we search for spatial scales where the extended signal is uncontaminated by the PS flux. We derive a combination of scales and thresholds, which result in a clean extended source catalog. We design the output of the GC detection which enables calibrating the core-excised luminosity using external mass measurements. We provide a way to incorporate the results of this calibration in the production of final core-excised luminosity. Similarly to other GC detection pipelines, we sample the flux - core radius detection space of our method and find many similarities with the pipeline used in the 400d survey. Both detection methods require large statistics on compact GCs, in order to reduce the contamination from PSs. The benefit of our pipeline consists in the sensitivity to the outer GC shapes, which are characterized by large core sizes with little GC to GC variation at a fixed total mass. GC detection through cluster outskirts improves the GC characterization using eROSITA survey data and is expected to yield well characterized GC catalogs having simple selection functions.

The galaxy cluster Zwicky 3146 is a sloshing cool core cluster at $z=0.291$ that in X-ray imaging does not appear to exhibit significant pressure substructure in the intracluster medium (ICM). The published $M_{500}$ values range between $3.88^{+0.62}_{-0.58}$ to $22.50 \pm 7.58 \times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$, where ICM-based estimates with reported errors $<20$\% suggest that we should expect to find a mass between $6.53^{+0.44}_{-0.44} \times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$ (from Planck, with an $8.4\sigma$ detection) and $8.52^{+1.77}_{-1.47} \times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$ (from ACT, with a $14\sigma$ detection). This broad range of masses is suggestive that there is ample room for improvement for all methods. Here, we investigate the ability to estimate the mass of Zwicky 3146 via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect with data taken at 90 GHz by MUSTANG-2 to a noise level better than $15\ \mu$K at the center, and a cluster detection of $104\sigma$. We derive a pressure profile from our SZ data which is in excellent agreement with that derived from X-ray data. From our SZ-derived pressure profiles, we infer $M_{500}$ and $M_{2500}$ via three methods -- $Y$-$M$ scaling relations, the virial theorem, and hydrostatic equilibrium -- where we employ X-ray constraints from \emph{XMM-Newton} on the electron density profile when assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. Depending on the model and estimation method, our $M_{500}$ estimates range from $6.23 \pm 0.59$ to $10.6 \pm 0.95 \times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$, where our estimate from hydrostatic equilibrium, is $8.29^{+1.93}_{-1.24}$ ($\pm 19.1$\% stat) ${}^{+0.74}_{-0.68}$ ($\pm 8.6$\% sys, calibration) $\times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$. Our fiducial mass, derived from a $Y$-$M$ relation is $8.16^{+0.44}_{-0.54}$ ($\pm 5.5$\% stat) ${}^{+0.46}_{-0.43}$ ($\pm 5.5$\% sys, $Y$-$M$) ${}^{+0.59}_{-0.55}$ ($\pm 7.0$\% sys, cal.) $\times 10^{14}$ M$_{\odot}$., Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures; submitted to ApJ

The particle-induced background of X-ray observatories is produced by Galactic Cosmic Ray (GCR) primary protons, electrons, and He ions. Events due to direct interaction with the detector are usually removed by on board processing. The interactions of these primary particles with the detector environment produce secondary particles that mimic X-ray events from celestial sources and are much more difficult to identify. The filter wheel closed data from the XMM-Newton EPIC-pn camera in small window mode (SWM) contains both the X-ray-like background events and the events due to direct interactions with the primary particles. From this data we demonstrate that X-ray-like background events are spatially correlated with the primary particle interaction. This result can be used to further characterise and reduce the non-X-ray background in silicon-based X-ray detectors in current and future missions. We also show that spectrum and pattern fractions of secondary particle events are different from those produced by cosmic X-rays., Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, 5 tables. Accepted for publication in ApJ

In this work, we investigate the relation between the radially-resolved thermodynamic quantities of the intracluster medium in the X-COP cluster sample, aiming to assess the stratification properties of the ICM. We model the relations between radius, gas temperature, density and pressure using a combination of power-laws, also evaluating the intrinsic scatter in these relations. We show that the gas pressure is remarkably well correlated to the density, with very small scatter. Also, the temperature correlates with gas density with similar scatter. The slopes of these relations have values that show a clear transition from the inner cluster regions to the outskirts. This transition occurs at the radius $r_t = 0.19(\pm0.04)R_{500}$ and electron density $n_t = (1.91\pm0.21)\cdot10^{-3} cm^{-3} E^2 (z)$. We find that above 0.2 $R_{500}$ the radial thermodynamic profiles are accurately reproduced by a well defined and physically motivated framework, where the dark matter follows the NFW potential and the gas is represented by a polytropic equation of state. By modeling the gas temperature dependence upon both the gas density and radius, we propose a new method to reconstruct the hydrostatic mass profile based only on the quite inexpensive measurement of the gas density profile., Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, accepted by A&A

Clusters of galaxies, the largest collapsed structures in the Universe, are located at the intersection of extended filaments of baryons and dark matter. Cosmological accretion onto clusters through large scale filaments adds material at cluster outskirts. Kinetic energy in the form of bulk motions and turbulence due to this accretion provides a form of pressure support against gravity, supplemental to thermal pressure. Significant amount of non-thermal pressure support could bias cluster masses derived assuming hydrostatic equilibrium, the primary proxy for cluster cosmology studies. Sensitive measurements of Doppler broadening and shift of astrophysical lines, and the relative fluctuations in thermodynamical quantities (e.g., density, pressure, and entropy) are primary diagnostic tools. Forthcoming planned and proposed X-ray (with large etendue, throughput, and high spectral resolution) and SZ observatories will provide crucial information on the assembly and virialisation processes of clusters, involving turbulent eddies cascading at various spatial scales and larger gas bulk motions in their external regions to the depth or their potential wells., Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, Science white paper submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey

As the largest virialized structures in the universe, galaxy clusters continue to grow and accrete matter from the cosmic web. Due to the low gas density in the outskirts of clusters, measurements are very challenging, requiring extremely sensitive telescopes across the entire electromagnetic spectrum. Observations using X-rays, the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, and weak lensing and galaxy distributions from the optical band, have over the last decade helped to unravel this exciting new frontier of cluster astrophysics, where the infall and virialization of matter takes place. Here, we review the current state of the art in our observational and theoretical understanding of cluster outskirts, and discuss future prospects for exploration using newly planned and proposed observatories., Comment: 56 pages. Review paper. Published in Space Science Reviews