2025/12/04 by Hu, Dan, Fan, Shida, Yuan, Zhongsheng +7
Physics and Astronomy · #Astronomy and Astrophysical Research #Astrophysics and Star Formation Studies #Astrophysics of Galaxies (astro-ph.GA) #Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics (astro-ph.CO) #FOS: Physical sciences #Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
paper · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2512.04689
openalex publication_date 2025/12/04 · openalex created_date 2025/12/06 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Galaxy clusters trace the densest regions of the cosmic web and are crucial laboratories for studying the thermodynamic and chemical evolution of the intracluster medium (ICM). We present a Chandra study of the massive galaxy cluster SPT-CL J0217-5014 (z ∼ 0.53; M\rm 500 ∼ 3 × 1014~\rm M\odot), previously reported as a Swift serendipitous clusters with the highest Fe abundance (∼ 1.3± 0.4 \rm Z\odot within ∼ 1'.7) and a potentially disturbed morphology. The X-ray morphology reveals a disturbed ICM with a surface brightness edge at ∼ 0'.26 (∼ 100 kpc) to the west and a tail-like feature extending towards the east. The best-fit metal abundance within 1'.5 (∼ 0.7\rm R500) is 0.61-0.23+0.26~\rm Z\odot. The derived central electron number density, entropy, and cooling time classify this system as a non-cool-core cluster, suggesting that merger activity has likely disrupted the possible pre-existing cool core. At larger radii (∼ 1' - 2'), we detect excess X-ray emission to the south, spatially aligned with a filamentary distribution of red galaxies, indicating ongoing accretion along an intracluster filament. Based on the DESI DR9 cross-matched optical clusters and photometric redshifts, we identify three nearby, lower-mass clusters that likely trace the large-scale structures, suggesting that SPT-CL~J0217-5014 is the primary node of a dynamically active environment where past mergers and anisotropic accretion along cosmic filaments have shaped the present-day ICM.