Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect and X-ray scaling relations of galaxies, groups and clusters in the IllustrisTNG simulations

Abstract

Observable thermodynamical properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) reflect the complex interplay between AGN feedback and the gravitational collapse of haloes. Using the large volume TNG300 simulation of the IllustrisTNG project we provide predictions for X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) scaling relations for a sample of over 30,000 haloes that cover a wide mass range from galaxies to massive galaxy clusters ($M_{500crit}$ $\in [10^{12}$ M${}_{\odot }-2\times 10^{15}$ M${}_{\odot }$]). We produce mock X-ray observations of simulated haloes using methods that are consistent with observational techniques. Thus, we investigate the scaling relations between the soft-band X-ray luminosity, spectroscopic temperature, gas mass fraction, $Y_{\mathrm{X}}$ and $Y_{\mathrm{SZ}}$ as a function of halo mass, and we find broad agreement between IllustrisTNG and the observed relations. Our results highlight the scatter and bias introduced by estimated masses, and thus the importance of converting simulated ICM properties to the observable space when comparing simulations to current X-ray observations. The wide range of halo masses in our sample provides new insights into the shape of the X-ray and SZ scaling relations across three orders of magnitude in mass. Our findings show strong evidence for a break in $z=0$ scaling relations. We introduce a smoothly broken power law model which robustly captures the location of this break, the width of the transition region around the break, as well as the slope dependence on halo mass. Our results inform the next generation of subgrid black hole feedback models and provide predictions for ongoing and future observational surveys.

29 pages, 15 figures, 7 tables, 2 appendices; submitted to MNRAS. This is a companion paper to Pop et al. 2022: "Unifying Sunyaev-Zel'dovich and X-ray predictions from clusters to galaxy groups: the impact of X-ray mass estimates on the Y-M scaling relation"

Cited by in corpus (7)

• The CosmoVerse White Paper: Addressing observational tensions in cosmology with systematics and fundamental physics
• The growth of brightest cluster galaxies in the TNG300 simulation:dissecting the contributions from mergers and in situ star formation
• The SZ flux-mass ($Y$-$M$) relation at low halo masses: improvements with symbolic regression and strong constraints on baryonic feedback
• Resonant scattering of the OVII X-ray emission line in the circumgalactic medium of TNG50 galaxies
• Benchmarks and Explanations for Deep Learning Estimates of X-ray Galaxy Cluster Masses
• Halo Scaling Relations and Hydrostatic Mass Bias in the Simba Simulation From Realistic Mock X-ray Catalogues
• NIKA2 observations of 3 low-mass galaxy clusters at $z\sim 1$: pressure profile and $Y_{\mathrm{SZ}}$-$M$ relation