Cluster Evolution in the [ITAL]ROSAT[/ITAL] North Ecliptic Pole Survey

Abstract

The deepest region of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey, at the north ecliptic pole, has been studied to produce a complete and unbiased X-ray-selected sample of clusters of galaxies. This sample is used to investigate the nature of cluster evolution and to explore the potential implications for large-scale structure models. The survey is 99.6% optically identified. Spectroscopic redshifts have been measured for all the extragalactic identifications. In this Letter, first results on cluster evolution are presented based on a comparison between the number of the observed clusters in the north ecliptic pole survey and the number of expected clusters assuming no-evolution models. At z > 0.3, there is a deficit of clusters with respect to the local universe that is significant at greater than 4.7 σ. The evolution appears to commence at L0.5-2.0 keV > 1.8 × 1044 ergs s-1 in our data. The negative evolution goes in the same direction as the original Extended Medium-Sensitivity Survey result, the results from the 160 deg2 survey, and the recent results from the ROSAT Deep Cluster Survey. At lower redshifts, there is no evidence for evolution, a result in agreement with these and other cluster surveys.