Deep XMM–Newton observations of the most distant SPT-SZ galaxy cluster

ABSTRACT We present results from a 577 ks XMM–Newton observation of SPT-CL J0459–4947, the most distant cluster detected in the South Pole Telescope 2500 square degree (SPT-SZ) survey, and currently the most distant cluster discovered through its Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect. The data confirm the cluster’s high redshift, z = 1.71 ± 0.02, in agreement with earlier, less precise optical/IR photometric estimates. From the gas density profile, we estimate a characteristic mass of $M_{500}=(1.8\pm 0.2)\times 10^{14}\, {\rm M}_{\odot }$; cluster emission is detected above the background to a radius of $\sim \!2.2\, r_{500}$, or approximately the virial radius. The intracluster gas is characterized by an emission-weighted average temperature of 7.2 ± 0.3 keV and metallicity with respect to Solar of $Z/\, Z_{\odot }=0.37\pm 0.08$. For the first time at such high redshift, this deep data set provides a measurement of metallicity outside the cluster centre; at radii $r\gt 0.3\, r_{500}$, we find $Z/\, Z_{\odot }=0.33\pm 0.17$ in good agreement with precise measurements at similar radii in the most nearby clusters, supporting an early enrichment scenario in which the bulk of the cluster gas is enriched to a universal metallicity prior to cluster formation, with little to no evolution thereafter. The leverage provided by the high redshift of this cluster tightens by a factor of 2 constraints on evolving metallicity models, when combined with previous measurements at lower redshifts.

Molecular gas in distant brightest cluster galaxies

The mechanisms governing the stellar mass assembly and star formation history of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) are still being debated. By means of new and archival molecular gas observations we investigate the role of dense megaparsec-scale environments in regulating the fueling of star formation in distant BCGs, through cosmic time. We observed in CO with the IRAM 30 m telescope two star-forming BCGs belonging to SpARCS clusters, namely, 3C 244.1 (z = 0.4) and SDSS J161112.65+550823.5 (z = 0.9), and compared their molecular gas and star formation properties with those of a compilation of ∼100 distant cluster galaxies from the literature, including nine additional distant BCGs at z ∼ 0.4 − 3.5. We set robust upper limits of MH2 < 1.0 × 1010 M⊙ and < 2.8 × 1010 M⊙ to their molecular gas content, respectively, and to the ratio of molecular gas to stellar mass M(H2)/M⋆ ≲ 0.2 and depletion time τdep ≲ 40 Myr of the two targeted BCGs. They are thus among the distant cluster galaxies with the lowest gas fractions and shortest depletion times. The majority (64%±15% and 73%±18%) of the 11 BCGs with observations in CO have lower M(H2)/M⋆ values and τdep, respectively, than those estimated for main sequence galaxies. Statistical analysis also tentatively suggests that the values of M(H2)/M⋆ and τdep for the 11 BCGs deviates, with a significance of ∼2σ, from those of the comparison sample of cluster galaxies. A morphological analysis for a subsample of seven BCGs with archival HST observations reveals that 71%±17% of the BCGs are compact or show star-forming components or substructures. Our results suggest a scenario where distant star-forming BCGs assemble a significant fraction ∼16% of their stellar mass on the relatively short timescale ∼τdep, while environmental mechanisms might prevent the replenishment of gas feeding the star formation. We speculate that compact components also favor the rapid exhaustion of molecular gas and ultimately help to quench the BCGs. Distant star-forming BCGs are excellent targets for ALMA and for next-generation telescopes such as the James Webb Space Telescope.

Molecular gas in two companion cluster galaxies at z = 1.2

Context. Probing both star formation history and evolution of distant cluster galaxies is essential to evaluate the effect of dense environment on shaping the galaxy properties we observe today. Aims. We investigate the effect of cluster environment on the processing of the molecular gas in distant cluster galaxies. We study the molecular gas properties of two star-forming galaxies separated by 6 kpc in the projected space and belonging to a galaxy cluster selected from the Irac Shallow Cluster Survey, at a redshift z = 1.2, that is, ~ 2 Gyr after the cosmic star formation density peak. This work describes the first CO detection from 1 < z < 1.4 star-forming cluster galaxies with no clear reported evidence of active galactic nuclei. Methods. We exploit observations taken with the NOEMA interferometer at ~3 mm to detect CO(2−1) line emission from the two selected galaxies, unresolved by our observations. Results. Based on the CO(2−1) spectrum, we estimate a total molecular gas mass M(H2) = (2.2+0.50.4) × 1010 M⊙, where fully excited gas is assumed, and a dust mass Mdust < 4.2 × 108 M⊙ for the two blended sources. The two galaxies have similar stellar masses and Hα-based star formation rates (SFRs) found in previous work, as well as a large relative velocity of ~400 km s−1 estimated from the CO(2−1) line width. These findings tend to privilege a scenario where both sources contribute to the observed CO(2−1). Using the archival Spitzer MIPS flux at 24 μm we estimate an SFR (24μm) = (28+12−8) M⊙/yr for each of the two galaxies. Assuming that the two sources contribute equally to the observed CO(2−1), our analysis yields a depletion timescale of τdep = (3.9+1.4−1.8) × 108 yr, and a molecular gas to stellar mass ratio of 0.17 ± 0.13 for each of two sources, separately. We also provide a new, more precise measurement of an unknown weighted mean of the redshifts of the two galaxies, z = 1.163 ± 0.001. Conclusions. Our results are in overall agreement with those of other distant cluster galaxies and with model predictions for main sequence (MS) field galaxies at similar redshifts. The two target galaxies have molecular gas mass and depletion times that are marginally compatible with, but smaller than those of MS field galaxies, suggesting that the molecular gas has not been sufficiently refueled. We speculate that the cluster environment might have played a role in preventing the refueling via environmental mechanisms such as galaxy harassment, strangulation, ram-pressure, or tidal stripping. Higher-resolution and higher-frequency observations will enable us to spatially resolve the two sources and possibly distinguish between different gas processing mechanisms.