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Main Authors: Cai, Yan-Chuan, Kaiser, Nick, Cole, Shaun, Frenk, Carlos
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19922
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author Cai, Yan-Chuan
Kaiser, Nick
Cole, Shaun
Frenk, Carlos
author_facet Cai, Yan-Chuan
Kaiser, Nick
Cole, Shaun
Frenk, Carlos
contents We use numerical simulations to explore biases that arise in dynamical estimates of the mean mass profile for a collection of galaxy clusters that have been stacked to make a composite. There are three types of bias. One arises from anisotropy of the kinematic pressure tensor and has been already well studied; a second arises from departures from equilibrium; and a third arises because of heterogeneity of the clusters used, from their individual non-sphericity, and because velocities used are measured with respect to centres that are, in general, accelerating. Here we focus on the latter two. We stack clusters to measure the pressure tensor and density profiles and then estimate the dynamical mass profile using the Jeans equation, and compare to the actual mean mass profile. The main result of this paper is an estimate of the bias, that can be used to correct the dynamical mass estimate, and we show how it depends on the cluster sample selection. We find that Jeans equation typically overestimates the true mass by about 20\% at the virial radius.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2504_19922
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Dynamical analysis of stacked samples of asymmetric, non-static, self-gravitating systems
Cai, Yan-Chuan
Kaiser, Nick
Cole, Shaun
Frenk, Carlos
Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
We use numerical simulations to explore biases that arise in dynamical estimates of the mean mass profile for a collection of galaxy clusters that have been stacked to make a composite. There are three types of bias. One arises from anisotropy of the kinematic pressure tensor and has been already well studied; a second arises from departures from equilibrium; and a third arises because of heterogeneity of the clusters used, from their individual non-sphericity, and because velocities used are measured with respect to centres that are, in general, accelerating. Here we focus on the latter two. We stack clusters to measure the pressure tensor and density profiles and then estimate the dynamical mass profile using the Jeans equation, and compare to the actual mean mass profile. The main result of this paper is an estimate of the bias, that can be used to correct the dynamical mass estimate, and we show how it depends on the cluster sample selection. We find that Jeans equation typically overestimates the true mass by about 20\% at the virial radius.
title Dynamical analysis of stacked samples of asymmetric, non-static, self-gravitating systems
topic Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics
Astrophysics of Galaxies
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2504.19922