TY - JOUR
T1 - A massive blow for ΛCDM - the high redshift, mass, and collision velocity of the interacting galaxy cluster El Gordo contradicts concordance cosmology
AU - Asencio, Elena
AU - Banik, Indranil
AU - Kroupa, Pavel
N1 - EA is supported by a stipend from the Stellar Populations and Dynamics Research Group at the University of Bonn. IB is supported by an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation postdoctoral research fellowship.
PY - 2021/2
Y1 - 2021/2
N2 - El Gordo (ACT-CL J0102-4915) is an extremely massive galaxy cluster (M200 ≈ 3 × 1015 M·) at redshift z = 0.87 composed of two subclusters with a mass ratio of 3.6 merging at speed Vinfall ≈ 2500 km s-1. Such a fast collision between individually rare massive clusters is unexpected in Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology at such high z. However, this is required for non-cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the merger to match its observed properties. Here, we determine the probability of finding a similar object in a ΛCDM context using the Jubilee simulation box with a side length of 6, h-1 Gpc. We search for galaxy cluster pairs that have turned around from the cosmic expansion with properties similar to El Gordo in terms of total mass, mass ratio, redshift, and collision velocity relative to virial velocity. We fit the distribution of pair total mass quite accurately, with the fits used in two methods to infer the probability of observing El Gordo in the surveyed region. The more conservative (and detailed) method involves considering the expected distribution of pairwise mass and redshift for analogue pairs with similar dimensionless parameters to El Gordo in the past light-cone of a z = 0 observer. Detecting one pair with its mass and redshift rules out ΛCDM cosmology at 6.16σ. We also use the results of Kraljic and Sarkar to show that the Bullet Cluster is in 2.78σ tension once the sky coverage of its discovery survey is accounted for. Using a χ2 approach, the combined tension can be estimated as 6.43σ. Both collisions arise naturally in a Milgromian dynamics (MOND) cosmology with light sterile neutrinos.
AB - El Gordo (ACT-CL J0102-4915) is an extremely massive galaxy cluster (M200 ≈ 3 × 1015 M·) at redshift z = 0.87 composed of two subclusters with a mass ratio of 3.6 merging at speed Vinfall ≈ 2500 km s-1. Such a fast collision between individually rare massive clusters is unexpected in Lambda cold dark matter (ΛCDM) cosmology at such high z. However, this is required for non-cosmological hydrodynamical simulations of the merger to match its observed properties. Here, we determine the probability of finding a similar object in a ΛCDM context using the Jubilee simulation box with a side length of 6, h-1 Gpc. We search for galaxy cluster pairs that have turned around from the cosmic expansion with properties similar to El Gordo in terms of total mass, mass ratio, redshift, and collision velocity relative to virial velocity. We fit the distribution of pair total mass quite accurately, with the fits used in two methods to infer the probability of observing El Gordo in the surveyed region. The more conservative (and detailed) method involves considering the expected distribution of pairwise mass and redshift for analogue pairs with similar dimensionless parameters to El Gordo in the past light-cone of a z = 0 observer. Detecting one pair with its mass and redshift rules out ΛCDM cosmology at 6.16σ. We also use the results of Kraljic and Sarkar to show that the Bullet Cluster is in 2.78σ tension once the sky coverage of its discovery survey is accounted for. Using a χ2 approach, the combined tension can be estimated as 6.43σ. Both collisions arise naturally in a Milgromian dynamics (MOND) cosmology with light sterile neutrinos.
KW - Dark matter
KW - Galaxies: clusters: individual: Bullet Cluster
KW - Galaxies: clusters: individual: El Gordo
KW - Gravitation
KW - Large-scale structure of Universe
KW - Methods: statistical
U2 - 10.1093/mnras/staa3441
DO - 10.1093/mnras/staa3441
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099709744
SN - 0035-8711
VL - 500
SP - 5249
EP - 5267
JO - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
JF - Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society
IS - 4
ER -