Weak-Lensing Mass Reconstruction of the Interacting Cluster 1E 0657-558: Direct Evidence for the Existence of Dark Matter

We present a weak-lensing mass reconstruction of the interacting cluster 1E 0657-558, in which we detect both the main cluster and a subcluster. The subcluster is identified as a smaller cluster that has just undergone initial infall and pass-through of the primary cluster and has been previously identified in both optical surveys and X-ray studies. The X-ray gas has been separated from the galaxies by ram pressure-stripping during the pass-through. The detected mass peak is located between the X-ray peak and galaxy concentration, although the position is consistent with the galaxy centroid within the errors of the mass reconstruction. We find that the mass peak for the main cluster is in good spatial agreement with the cluster galaxies and is offset from the X-ray halo at 3.4 σ significance, and we determine that the mass-to-light ratios of the two components are consistent with those of relaxed clusters. The observed offsets of the lensing mass peaks from the peaks of the dominant visible mass component (the X-ray gas) directly demonstrate the presence, and dominance, of dark matter in this cluster. This proof of dark matter existence holds true even under the assumption of modified Newtonian dynamics (MOND); based on the observed gravitational shear-optical light ratios and the mass peak-X-ray gas offsets, the dark matter component in a MOND regime would have a total mass that is at least equal to the baryonic mass of the system.

Based on observations made with ESO telescopes at the Paranal Observatories under program IDs 60.A-9203 and 64.O-0332.