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At least 505 records · Page 28

The history of metal enrichment traced by X-ray observations of high-redshift galaxy clusters

ABSTRACT We present the analysis of deep X-ray observations of 10 massive galaxy clusters at redshifts 1.05 < z < 1.71, with the primary goal of measuring the metallicity of the intracluster medium (ICM) at intermediate radii, to better constrain models of the metal enrichment of the intergalactic medium. The targets were selected from X-ray and Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect surveys, and observed with both the XMM–Newton and Chandra satellites. For each cluster, a precise gas mass profile was extracted, from which the value of r500 could be estimated. This allows us to define consistent radial ranges over which the metallicity measurements can be compared. In general, the data are of sufficient quality to extract meaningful metallicity measurements in two radial bins, r < 0.3r500 and 0.3 < r/r500 < 1.0. For the outer bin, the combined measurement for all 10 clusters, Z/Z⊙ = 0.21 ± 0.09, represents a substantial improvement in precision over previous results. This measurement is consistent with, but slightly lower than, the average metallicity of 0.315 solar measured at intermediate-to-large radii in low-redshift clusters. Combining our new high-redshift data with the previous low-redshift results allows us to place the tightest constraints to date on models of the evolution of cluster metallicity at intermediate radii. Adopting a power-law model of the form Z ∝ (1 + z)γ, we measure a slope $\gamma = -0.5^{+0.4}_{-0.3}$, consistent with the majority of the enrichment of the ICM having occurred at very early times and before massive clusters formed, but leaving open the possibility that some additional enrichment in these regions may have occurred since a redshift of 2.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Cooling and instabilities in colliding flows

ABSTRACT Collisional self-interactions occurring in protostellar jets give rise to strong shocks, the structure of which can be affected by radiative cooling within the flow. To study such colliding flows, we use the AstroBEAR AMR code to conduct hydrodynamic simulations in both one and three dimensions with a power-law cooling function. The characteristic length and time-scales for cooling are temperature dependent and thus may vary as shocked gas cools. When the cooling length decreases sufficiently and rapidly, the system becomes unstable to the radiative shock instability, which produces oscillations in the position of the shock front; these oscillations can be seen in both the one- and three-dimensional cases. Our simulations show no evidence of the density clumping characteristic of a thermal instability, even when the cooling function meets the expected criteria. In the three-dimensional case, the nonlinear thin shell instability (NTSI) is found to dominate when the cooling length is sufficiently small. When the flows are subjected to the radiative shock instability, oscillations in the size of the cooling region allow NTSI to occur at larger cooling lengths, though larger cooling lengths delay the onset of NTSI by increasing the oscillation period.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Preliminary clustering properties of the DESI BGS bright targets using DR9 Legacy Imaging Surveys

ABSTRACT We characterize the selection cuts and clustering properties of a magnitude-limited sample of bright galaxies that is part of the Bright Galaxy Survey (BGS) of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) using the ninth data release of the Legacy Imaging Surveys (DR9). We describe changes in the DR9 selection compared to the DR8 one and we also compare the DR9 selection in three distinct regions: BASS/MzLS in the north Galactic Cap (NGC), DECaLS in the NGC, and DECaLS in the south Galactic Cap (SGC). We investigate the systematics associated with the selection and assess its completeness by matching the BGS targets with the Galaxy and Mass Assembly (GAMA) survey. We measure the angular clustering for the overall bright sample (rmag ≤ 19.5) and as function of apparent magnitude and colour. This enables to determine the clustering strength r0 and slope γ by fitting a power-law model that can be used to generate accurate mock catalogues for this tracer. We use a counts-in-cells technique to explore higher order statistics and cross-correlations with external spectroscopic data sets in order to check the evolution of the clustering with redshift and the redshift distribution of the BGS targets using clustering redshifts. While this work validates the properties of the BGS bright targets, the final target selection pipeline and clustering properties of the entire DESI BGS will be fully characterized and validated with the spectroscopic data of Survey Validation.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Influence of Comptonization region over the ambiance of accretion disc in active galactic nucleus

ABSTRACT Understanding the radiative and physical structures of inner region of a few 100 pc of active galactic nucleus (AGNs) is important to constrain the causes of their activities. Although the X-ray emission from the Comptonization region/corona and the accretion disc regulates the broad-line emission regions and torus structures, the exact mutual dependency is not understood well. We performed correlation studies for X-ray, mid-infrared, and different components of Balmer emission lines for the selected sample of AGNs. Almost 10 different parameters and their interdependencies were explored in order to understand the underlying astrophysics. We found that the X-ray luminosity has a linear dependency on the various components of broad Balmer emission lines (e.g. L$_{\text{2-10 keV}}\, \propto$ L$^{0.78}_{\text{H}\beta ^{\text{B}}}$) and found a strong dependency on the optical continuum luminosity (L$_{\text{2-10 keV}}\, \propto$ L$^{0.86}_{5100\, \mathring{\rm A}}$). For a selected sample, we also observed a linear dependency between X-ray and mid-infrared luminosity (L$_{\text{2-10 keV}}\, \propto$ L$^{0.74}_{6\, \mu \text{m}}$). A break point was observed in our correlation studies for X-ray power-law index, Γ, and mass of black hole at ∼ log (M/M⊙) = 8.95. Similarly, the relations between Γ and full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of H α and H β broad components show breaks at FWHMH α = 7642 ± 657 km s−1 and FWHMH β = 7336 ± 650 km s−1. However, more data are required to confine the breaks locations exactly. We noted that Γ and Eddington ratios are negatively correlated to Balmer decrements in our selected sample. We analysed and discussed about the implications of new findings in terms of interaction AGN structures.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Modelling the stellar halo with RR-Lyrae stars

ABSTRACT A seven-parameter distribution function (DF) is fitted to $20\, 000$ RR-Lyrae stars for which only astrometric data are available. The observational data are predicted by the DF in conjunction with the gravitational potential of a self-consistent model Galaxy defined by DFs for the dark halo, the bulge, and a four-component disc. Tests of the technique developed to deal with missing line-of-sight velocities show that adding such velocities tightens constraints on the DF only slightly. The recovered model of the RR-Lyrae population confirms that the population is flattened and has a strongly radially biased velocity distribution. At large radii, its density profile tends to ρ ∼ r−4.5 but no power law provides a good fit inside the solar sphere. The model is shown to provide an excellent fit to the data for stars brighter than r = 16.5 but at certain longitudes it predicts too few faint stars at Galactocentric radii $\sim 20\, \mathrm{kpc}$, possibly signalling that the halo is not axisymmetric. The DF is used to predict the velocity distribution of BHB stars for which space velocities are available. The z components are predicted successfully but too much anisotropy in the vRvϕ plane is expected.

Li, Chengdong↗

Black hole to breakout: 3D GRMHD simulations of collapsar jets reveal a wide range of transients

We present a suite of the first 3D GRMHD collapsar simulations, which extend from the self-consistent jet launching by an accreting Kerr black hole (BH) to the breakout from the star. We identify three types of outflows, depending on the angular momentum, l, of the collapsing material and the magnetic field, B, on the BH horizon: (i) subrelativistic outflow (low l and high B), (ii) stationary accretion shock instability (SASI; high l and low B), (iii) relativistic jets (high l and high B). In the absence of jets, free-fall of the stellar envelope provides a good estimate for the BH accretion rate. Jets can substantially suppress the accretion rate, and their duration can be limited by the magnetization profile in the star. We find that progenitors with large (steep) inner density power-law indices (≳ 2), face extreme challenges as gamma-ray burst (GRB) progenitors due to excessive luminosity, global time evolution in the light curve throughout the burst and short breakout times, inconsistent with observations. Our results suggest that the wide variety of observed explosion appearances (supernova/supernova + GRB/low-luminosity GRBs) and the characteristics of the emitting relativistic outflows (luminosity and duration) can be naturally explained by the differences in the progenitor structure. Our simulations reveal several important jet features: (i) strong magnetic dissipation inside the star, resulting in weakly magnetized jets by breakout that may have significant photospheric emission and (ii) spontaneous emergence of tilted accretion disc-jet flows, even in the absence of any tilt in the progenitor.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

On the physical size of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 7089 (M2)

ABSTRACT We study the outer regions of the Milky Way globular cluster NGC 7089 based on new Dark Energy Camera observations. The resulting background-cleaned stellar density profile reveals the existence of an extended envelope. We confirm previous results that cluster stars are found out up to ∼1° from the cluster’s centre, which is nearly three times the value of the most robust tidal radii estimations. We also used results from direct N-body simulations in order to compare with the observations. We found a fairly good agreement between the observed and numerically generated stellar density profiles. Because of the existence of gaps and substructures along globular cluster tidal tails, we closely examined the structure of the outer cluster region beyond the Jacobi radius. We extended the analysis to a sample of 35 globular clusters, 20 of them with observed tidal tails. We found that if the stellar density profile follows a power law ∝ r−α, the α slope correlates with the globular cluster present mass, in the sense that, the more massive the globular cluster, the smaller the α value. This trend is not found in globular clusters without observed tidal tails. The origin of such a phenomenon could be related, among other reasons, to the proposed so-called potential escapers or to the formation of globular clusters within dark matter minihaloes.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Measuring the thermal and ionization state of the low- z IGM using likelihood free inference

ABSTRACT We present a new approach to measure the power-law temperature density relationship $T=T_0 (\rho/ \bar{\rho })^{\gamma -1}$ and the UV background photoionization rate $\Gamma _{{{{\rm H\, {\small I}}}}{}}$ of the intergalactic medium (IGM) based on the Voigt profile decomposition of the Ly α forest into a set of discrete absorption lines with Doppler parameter b and the neutral hydrogen column density $N_{\rm H\, {\small I}}$. Previous work demonstrated that the shape of the $b-N_{{{{\rm H\, {\small I}}}}{}}$ distribution is sensitive to the IGM thermal parameters T0 and γ, whereas our new inference algorithm also takes into account the normalization of the distribution, i.e. the line-density dN/dz, and we demonstrate that precise constraints can also be obtained on $\Gamma _{{{{\rm H\, {\small I}}}}{}}$. We use density-estimation likelihood-free inference (DELFI) to emulate the dependence of the $b-N_{{{{\rm H\, {\small I}}}}{}}$ distribution on IGM parameters trained on an ensemble of 624 nyx hydrodynamical simulations at z = 0.1, which we combine with a Gaussian process emulator of the normalization. To demonstrate the efficacy of this approach, we generate hundreds of realizations of realistic mock HST/COS data sets, each comprising 34 quasar sightlines, and forward model the noise and resolution to match the real data. We use this large ensemble of mocks to extensively test our inference and empirically demonstrate that our posterior distributions are robust. Our analysis shows that by applying our new approach to existing Ly α forest spectra at z ≃ 0.1, one can measure the thermal and ionization state of the IGM with very high precision ($\sigma _{\log T_0} \sim 0.08$ dex, σγ ∼ 0.06, and $\sigma _{\log \Gamma _{{{{\rm H\, {\small I}}}}{}}} \sim 0.07$ dex).

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A multiwavelength study of the flat-spectrum radio quasar NVSS J141922−083830 covering four flaring episodes

We present multiwavelength observations and a model for flat-spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) NVSS J141922−083830, originally classified as a blazar candidate of unknown type (BCU II object) in the Third Fermi-LAT AGN Catalog. Relatively bright flares (>3 magnitudes) were observed on 2015 February 21 (MJD 57074) and 2018 September 8 (MJD 58369) in the optical band with the MASTER Global Robotic Net telescopes. Optical spectra obtained with the Southern African Large Telescope on 2015 March 1 (MJD 57082), during outburst, and on 2017 May 30 (MJD 57903), during quiescence, showed emission lines at 5325 Å and at ≈3630 Å that we identified as the Mg II III] 1909 Å lines, respectively, and hence derived a redshift z = 0.903. Analysis of Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) data was performed in the quiescent regime (5 yr of data) and during four prominent flaring states in 2014 February–April, 2014 October–November, 2015 February–March, and 2018 September. We present spectral and timing analysis with Fermi-LAT . We report a hardening of the gamma-ray spectrum during the last three flaring periods, with a power-law spectral index Γ = 2.0–2.1. The maximum gamma-ray flux level was observed on 2014 October 24 (MJD 56954) at (7.57 ± 1.83) × 10 −7 ph cm −2 s −1 . The multiwavelength spectral energy distribution (SED) during the 2015 February–March flare supports the earlier evidence of this blazar to belong to the FSRQ class. The SED can be well represented with a single-zone leptonic model with parameters typical of FSRQs, but also a hadronic origin of the high-energy emission cannot be ruled out.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Probing dark matter with strong gravitational lensing through an effective density slope

ABSTRACT Many dark matter (DM) models that are consistent with current cosmological data show differences in the predicted (sub)halo mass function, especially at sub-galactic scales, where observations are challenging due to the inefficiency of star formation. Strong gravitational lensing has been shown to be a useful tool for detecting dark low-mass (sub)haloes through perturbations in lensing arcs, therefore allowing the testing of different DM scenarios. However, measuring the total mass of a perturber from strong lensing data is challenging. Overestimating or underestimating perturber masses can lead to incorrect inferences about the nature of DM. In this paper, we argue that inferring an effective slope of the DM density profile, which is the power-law slope of perturbers at intermediate radii, where we expect the perturber to have the largest observable effect, is a promising way to circumvent these challenges. Using N-body simulations, we show that (sub)halo populations under different DM scenarios differ in their effective density slope distributions. Using realistic mocks of Hubble Space Telescope observations of strong lensing images, we show that the effective density slope of perturbers can be robustly measured with high enough accuracy to discern between different models. We also present our measurement of the effective density slope $\gamma =1.96\substack{+0.12 \\ -0.12}$ for the perturber in JVAS B1938+666, which is a 2σ outlier of the cold DM scenario. More measurements of this kind are needed to draw robust conclusions about the nature of DM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Non-universal stellar initial mass functions: large uncertainties in star formation rates at z ≈ 2–4 and other astrophysical probes

ABSTRACT We explore the assumption, widely used in many astrophysical calculations, that the stellar initial mass function (IMF) is universal across all galaxies. By considering both a canonical broken-power-law IMF and a non-universal IMF, we are able to compare the effect of different IMFs on multiple observables and derived quantities in astrophysics. Specifically, we consider a non-universal IMF that varies as a function of the local star formation rate, and explore the effects on the star formation rate density (SFRD), the extragalactic background light, the supernova (both core-collapse and thermonuclear) rates, and the diffuse supernova neutrino background. Our most interesting result is that our adopted varying IMF leads to much greater uncertainty on the SFRD at $z \approx 2-4$ than is usually assumed. Indeed, we find an SFRD (inferred using observed galaxy luminosity distributions) that is a factor of $\gtrsim 3$ lower than canonical results obtained using a universal IMF. Secondly, the non-universal IMF we explore implies a reduction in the supernova core-collapse rate of a factor of $\sim 2$, compared against a universal IMF. The other potential tracers are only slightly affected by changes to the properties of the IMF. We find that currently available data do not provide a clear preference for universal or non-universal IMF. However, improvements to measurements of the star formation rate and core-collapse supernova rate at redshifts $z \gtrsim 2$ may offer the best prospects for discernment.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Galaxy–halo size relation from Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 and the ELUCID simulation

ABSTRACT Based on galaxies in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Data Release 7 and dark matter haloes in the dark matter only, cosmological, and constrained ELUCID simulation, we investigate the relation between the observed radii of central galaxies with stellar mass $\gtrsim\!{10}^{8} \, h^{-2}\, {\rm M}_\odot$ and the virial radii of their host dark matter haloes with virial mass $\gtrsim\!{10}^{10.5} \, h^{-1}\, {\rm M}_\odot$, and the dependence of galaxy–halo size relation on the halo spin and concentration. Galaxies in observation are matched to dark matter (sub)haloes in the ELUCID simulation using a novel neighbourhood subhalo abundance matching method. For galaxy two-dimensional (2D) half-light radii R50, we find that early- and late-type galaxies have the same power-law index 0.55 with $R_{50} \propto R_{\rm vir}^{0.55}$, although early-type galaxies have smaller 2D half-light radii than late-type galaxies at fixed halo virial radii. When converting the 2D half-light radii R50 to 3D half-mass radii r1/2, both early- and late-type galaxies display similar galaxy–halo size relations with $\log r_{1/2} = 0.55 \log (R_{\rm vir}/210 \, h^{-1}\, {\rm kpc}) + 0.39$. We find that the galaxy–halo size ratio r1/2/Rvir decreases with increasing halo mass. At fixed halo mass, there is no significant dependence of galaxy–halo size ratio on the halo spin or concentration.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Cool circumgalactic gas in galaxy clusters: connecting the DESI legacy imaging survey and SDSS DR16 Mg ιι absorbers

Herein we investigate the cool gas absorption in galaxy clusters by cross-correlating Mg II absorbers detected in quasar spectra from data release 16 of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) with galaxy clusters identified in the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) survey. We find significant covering fractions (⁠1–5percent within r 500 , depending on the chosen redshift interval), ~4–5 times higher than around random sightlines. While the covering fraction of cool gas in clusters decreases with increasing mass of the central galaxy, the total Mg II mass within r 500 is none the less ~10 times higher than for SDSS luminous red galaxies. The Mg II covering fraction versus impact parameter is well described by a power law in the inner regions and an exponential function at larger distances. The characteristic scale of the transition between these two regimes is smaller for large equivalent width absorbers. Cross-correlating Mg II absorption with photo–z selected cluster member galaxies from DESI reveals a statistically significant connection. The median projected distance between Mg II absorbers and the nearest cluster member is ~200 kpc, compared to ~500 kpc in random mocks with the same galaxy density profiles. We do not find a correlation between Mg II strength and the star formation rate of the closest cluster neighbour. This suggests that cool gas in clusters, as traced by Mg II absorption, is: (i) associated with satellite galaxies, (ii) dominated by cold gas clouds in the intracluster medium, rather than by the interstellar medium of galaxies, and (iii) may originate in part from gas stripped from these cluster satellites in the past.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Young but fading radio sources: searching for remnants among compact steep-spectrum radio sources

The incidence of young but fading radio sources provides important information on the life cycle of radio emission in radio-loud active galactic nuclei. Despite its importance for constraining the models of radio source evolution, there are no systematic studies of remnants in complete samples of young radio sources. We report results of the study of 18 compact steep-spectrum (CSS) radio sources, selected from the statistically complete B3-VLA (Very Large Array) CSS sample, characterized by a steep optically thin spectrum (α ≥ 1.0) and no core detection in earlier studies. Our deep multifrequency VLA, pc-scale Very Long Baseline Array, and enhanced Multi Element Remotely Linked Interferometer Network (e-MERLIN) observations allowed us to locate the core component in 10 objects. In three CSS sources, there is no clear evidence of present-time active regions, suggesting that they are likely in a remnant phase. Among sources with core detection, we find three objects that have no clear active regions (hotspots) at the edges of the radio structure, suggesting that the radio emission may have just restarted. Our results support a power-law distribution of the source ages, although the poor statistics prevents us from setting solid constraints on the percentage of remnants and restarted sources in subpopulations of radio sources.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Sensitivity of the Cherenkov Telescope Array to TeV photon emission from the Large Magellanic Cloud

ABSTRACT A deep survey of the Large Magellanic Cloud at ∼0.1–100 TeV photon energies with the Cherenkov Telescope Array is planned. We assess the detection prospects based on a model for the emission of the galaxy, comprising the four known TeV emitters, mock populations of sources, and interstellar emission on galactic scales. We also assess the detectability of 30 Doradus and SN 1987A, and the constraints that can be derived on the nature of dark matter. The survey will allow for fine spectral studies of N 157B, N 132D, LMC P3, and 30 Doradus C, and half a dozen other sources should be revealed, mainly pulsar-powered objects. The remnant from SN 1987A could be detected if it produces cosmic-ray nuclei with a flat power-law spectrum at high energies, or with a steeper index 2.3–2.4 pending a flux increase by a factor of >3–4 over ∼2015–2035. Large-scale interstellar emission remains mostly out of reach of the survey if its >10 GeV spectrum has a soft photon index ∼2.7, but degree-scale 0.1–10 TeV pion-decay emission could be detected if the cosmic-ray spectrum hardens above >100 GeV. The 30 Doradus star-forming region is detectable if acceleration efficiency is on the order of 1−10 per cent of the mechanical luminosity and diffusion is suppressed by two orders of magnitude within <100 pc. Finally, the survey could probe the canonical velocity-averaged cross-section for self-annihilation of weakly interacting massive particles for cuspy Navarro–Frenk–White profiles.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

High-energy synchrotron flares powered by strongly radiative relativistic magnetic reconnection: 2D and 3D PIC simulations

ABSTRACT The time evolution of high-energy synchrotron radiation generated in a relativistic pair plasma energized by reconnection of strong magnetic fields is investigated with 2D and 3D particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations. The simulations in this 2D/3D comparison study are conducted with the radiative PIC code OSIRIS, which self-consistently accounts for the synchrotron radiation reaction on the emitting particles, and enables us to explore the effects of synchrotron cooling. Magnetic reconnection causes compression of the plasma and magnetic field deep inside magnetic islands (plasmoids), leading to an enhancement of the flaring emission, which may help explain some astrophysical gamma-ray flare observations. Although radiative cooling weakens the emission from plasmoid cores, it facilitates additional compression there, further amplifying the magnetic field B and plasma density n, and thus partially mitigating this effect. Novel simulation diagnostics utilizing 2D histograms in the n-B space are developed and used to visualize and quantify the effects of compression. The n-B histograms are observed to be bounded by relatively sharp power-law boundaries marking clear limits on compression. Theoretical explanations for some of these compression limits are developed, rooted in radiative resistivity or 3D kinking instabilities. Systematic parameter-space studies with respect to guide magnetic field, system size, and upstream magnetization are conducted and suggest that stronger compression, brighter high-energy radiation, and perhaps significant quantum electrodynamic effects such as pair production, may occur in environments with larger reconnection-region sizes and higher magnetization, particularly when magnetic field strengths approach the critical (Schwinger) field, as found in magnetar magnetospheres.

Schoeffler, K. M. (ORCID:0000000276447381)↗

A new redback pulsar candidate 4FGL J2054.2+6904

ABSTRACT The Fermi catalogue contains about 2000 unassociated γ-ray sources. Some of them were recently identified as pulsars, including so-called redbacks and black widows, which are millisecond pulsars in tight binary systems with non- and partially-degenerate low-mass stellar companions irradiated by the pulsar wind. We study a likely optical and X-ray counterpart of the Fermi source 4FGL J2054.2+6904 proposed earlier as a pulsar candidate. We use archival optical data as well as Swift/XRT and SRG/eROSITA X-ray data to clarify its nature. Using Zwicky Transient Facility data in g and r bands spanning over 4.7 yr, we find a period of ≈7.5 h. The folded light curve has a smooth sinusoidal shape with the peak-to-peak amplitude of ≈0.4 mag. The spectral fit to the optical spectral energy distribution of the counterpart candidate gives the star radius of 0.5 ± 0.1 R⊙ and temperature of 5500 ± 300 K implying a G2–G9-type star. Its X-ray spectrum is well fitted by an absorbed power law with the photon index of 1.0 ± 0.3 and unabsorbed flux of ≈2 × 10−13 erg s−1 cm−2. All the properties of 4FGL J2054.2+6904 and its presumed counterpart suggest that it is a member of the redback family.

Karpova, A. V. (ORCID:0000000242115856)↗

Interpreting Sunyaev–Zel’dovich observations with MillenniumTNG: mass and environment scaling relations

ABSTRACT Sunyaev–Zel’dovich (SZ) measurements can dramatically improve our understanding of the intergalactic medium and the role of feedback processes in galaxy formation, allowing us to calibrate important astrophysical systematics in cosmological constraints from weak lensing galaxy clustering surveys. However, the signal is only measured in a two-dimensional projection, and its correct interpretation relies on understanding the connection between observable quantities and the underlying intrinsic properties of the gas, in addition to the relation between the gas and the underlying matter distribution. One way to address these challenges is through the use of hydrodynamical simulations such as the high-resolution, large-volume MillenniumTNG suite. We find that measurements of the optical depth, τ, and the Compton-y parameter, Y, receive large line-of-sight contributions that can be removed effectively by applying a compensated aperture photometry filter. In contrast with other τ probes (e.g. X-rays and fast radio bursts), the kinematic SZ-inferred τ receives most of its signal from a confined cylindrical region around the halo due to the velocity decorrelation along the line of sight. Additionally, we perform fits to the Y–M and τ–M scaling relations and report best-fitting parameters adopting the smoothly broken power law formalism. We note that subgrid physics modelling can broaden the error bar on these by 30 per cent for intermediate-mass haloes (${\sim }10^{13} \, {\rm M}_{\odot }$). The scatter of the scaling relations can be captured by an intrinsic dependence on concentration and an extrinsic dependence on tidal shear. Finally, we comment on the effect of using galaxies rather than haloes in observations, which can bias the inferred profiles by ∼20 per cent for L* galaxies.

Hadzhiyska, Boryana (ORCID:0000000223123121)↗