X-ray and Optical Analysis of the Abell 1882 Super Group of Galaxies
Abstract
We have combined new Gemini GMOS with SDSS and XMM X-ray data to find a merging system with at least three major components (each detected as a unique sub-cluster in the X-ray) in Abell 1882. This cluster is similar in many ways to Abell 851 (Kodama et al. (2001) at z = 0.41. Such systems (effectively, they are compact superclusters) provide a unique laboratory to study the cosmic web. They contain multiple and well-defined clusters within a filamentary network. However, unlike Abell 851 which was studied using photometric redshifts, Abell 1882 is ideal for a combined X-ray and optical spectroscopic study as it is nearby, but not too close. Our velocity analysis (obtained by combining the 230 SDSS galaxies with our new 130 confirmed GMOS galaxies) confirms that two of the three components in A1882 are colliding along the line-of-sight and may currently be undergoing core-crossing. Moreover, a combination of the optical and X-ray data allow us to estimate the mass for the different clumps and predict a possible final evolutionary state of the ensemble. Finally, we provide preliminary results of a more detailed study aimed at understanding the environmental effects that this filament of the "cosmic-web" has on the evolution of its own galaxies.
- Publication:
-
AAS/High Energy Astrophysics Division #11
- Pub Date:
- March 2010
- Bibcode:
- 2010HEAD...11.3405G