A Chandra view of SPT-CL J0217-5014: a massive galaxy cluster at a cosmic intersection at z=0.53

Abstract

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 ($z\sim 0.53$; $M_{500}\sim 3\times 10^{14}{\mathrm{M}}_{\odot }$), previously reported as a Swift serendipitous clusters with the highest Fe abundance ($\sim 1.3\pm 0.4$ ${\mathrm{Z}}_{\odot }$ within $\sim 1^{\prime }.7$) and a potentially disturbed morphology. The X-ray morphology reveals a disturbed ICM with a surface brightness edge at $\sim 0^{\prime }.26$ ($\sim 100$ kpc) to the west and a tail-like feature extending towards the east. The best-fit metal abundance within 1'.5 ($\sim 0.7{\mathrm{R}}_{500}$) is $0.61_{-0.23}^{+0.26}{\mathrm{Z}}_{\odot }$. 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 ($\sim 1^{\prime }-2^{\prime }$), 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.

accepted for publication in A&A; 11 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables; abstract shortened due to arXiv character limit