THE SURVIVAL OF DARK MATTER HALOS IN THE CLUSTER Cl 0024+16

Abstract

Theories of structure formation in a cold dark matter dominated universe predict that massive clusters of galaxies assemble from the hierarchical merging of lower mass subhalos. Exploiting strong and weak gravitational lensing signals inferred from panoramic Hubble Space Telescope imaging data, we present a high-resolution reconstruction of the mass distribution in the massive, lensing cluster Cl 0024+16 at z = 0.39. Applying galaxy–galaxy lensing techniques we track the fate of dark matter subhalos as a function of projected cluster-centric radius out to 5 Mpc, well beyond the virial radius. We report the first detection of the statistical lensing signal of dark matter subhalos associated with late-type galaxies in clusters. The mass of a fiducial dark matter halo that hosts an early-type L* galaxy varies from M = 6.3+2.7−2.0 × 1011 M☉ within r < 0.6 Mpc, 1.3+0.8−0.6 × 1012 M☉ within r < 2.9 Mpc, and increases further to M = 3.7+1.4−1.1 × 1012 M☉ in the outskirts. The mass of a typical dark matter subhalo that hosts an L* galaxy increases with projected cluster-centric radius in line with expectations from the tidal stripping hypothesis. The mass of a dark matter subhalo that hosts a late-type L* galaxy is 1.06+0.52−0.41 × 1012 M☉. Early-type galaxies appear to be hosted on average in more massive dark matter subhalos compared to late-type galaxies. Early-type galaxies also trace the overall mass distribution of the cluster whereas late-type galaxies are biased tracers. We interpret our findings as evidence for the active assembly of mass via tidal stripping in galaxy clusters. The mass function of dark matter subhalos as a function of projected cluster-centric radius is compared with an equivalent mass function derived from clusters in the Millennium Run simulation populated with galaxies using semianalytic models. The shape of the observationally determined mass functions based on an I-band-selected sample of cluster members and lensing data are in agreement with the shapes of the subhalo mass functions derived from the Millennium Run simulation. However, simulated subhalos appear to be more efficiently stripped than lensing observations suggest. This is likely an artifact of comparison with a dark matter only simulation. Future simulations that simultaneously follow the detailed evolution of the baryonic component during cluster assembly will be needed for a more detailed comparison.