The role of supercluster filaments in shaping galaxy clusters

Context. In a hierarchical ΛCDM Universe, cosmic filaments serve as the primary channels for matter accretion into galaxy clusters, influencing the shape of their dark matter halos. Aims. We investigate whether the elongation of galaxy clusters correlates with the orientation of surrounding filaments, providing the first observational test of this relationship in large supercluster regions. Methods. We identified and characterized cosmic filaments in two dimensions within the two superclusters that are part of the low-redshift sub-survey of the Chilean Cluster Galaxy Evolution Survey (CHANCES): the Shapley supercluster and the Horologium-Reticulum supercluster. We analyzed the alignment between filament directions–traced by galaxy distributions–and the triaxiality of cluster gravitational potentials–traced by X-ray emission–using publicly available optical and X-ray data. Results We have found that most (82%) of the X-ray clusters are associated with and interconnected by the optically detected filaments. The clusters-filaments alignment analysis shows that the elongation of most clusters is well aligned with nearby filaments, providing observational confirmation of theoretical predictions, with the alignment progressively reducing at larger cluster-centric distances (> 1.6 r 200 ). Conclusions. Overall, our results support the notion that filaments are the main source of galaxy accretion at redshift below 0.1, and additionally provide evidence that matter accretion through filaments shapes the gravitational potential of galaxy clusters. We propose this measurement as a simple observational proxy to determine the direction of accretion in clusters, which is key to understanding both galaxy evolution and the merger history of galaxy clusters.

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Journal
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Published
2025-10-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/202556957
Citations
1
Primary Topic
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
1.15

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article

The role of supercluster filaments in shaping galaxy clusters

Círia Lima-Dias, Elismar Lösch, Nicolás Tejos, Marco Canducci et al.
1 citations
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
1.15
article

The role of supercluster filaments in shaping galaxy clusters

Círia Lima-Dias, Elismar Lösch, Nicolás Tejos, Marco Canducci, D. E. Olave-Rojas, Simone A. Teixeira, A. Finoguenov, Diego Pallero, F. Almeida-Fernandes, M. S. Carvalho, Antonela Monachesi, E. Pompei, Hyowon Kim, M. Argudo–Fernández, Ulrike Kuchner, A. Moretti, Vitor Hugo de Goes Sampaio, Johan Comparat, U. Rescigno, P. Vásquez-Bustos, Peter Tiňo, G. D’Ago, Hugo Méndez-Hernàndez, Clécio R. Bom, Yara L. Jaffé, Ivan Lacerna, L. Nakazono, Sebastián López, C. Mendes de Oliveira, P. Merluzzi, Ricardo DeMarco, G. B. Oliveira Schwarz, Stefania Barsanti, Fiete Haack, Franco Piraino-Cerda, E. V. R. Lima, Paul Haines, Laerte Sodré, Alexander Fritz, R. J. E. Smith, E. Ibar, Cristóbal Sifón, Raúl Baier-Soto, O. Alghamdi, E. Lawrence Bilton, R. Fábio Herpich, F. Boudewijn Roukema
article en
1 citations

Abstract

Context. In a hierarchical ΛCDM Universe, cosmic filaments serve as the primary channels for matter accretion into galaxy clusters, influencing the shape of their dark matter halos. Aims. We investigate whether the elongation of galaxy clusters correlates with the orientation of surrounding filaments, providing the first observational test of this relationship in large supercluster regions. Methods. We identified and characterized cosmic filaments in two dimensions within the two superclusters that are part of the low-redshift sub-survey of the Chilean Cluster Galaxy Evolution Survey (CHANCES): the Shapley supercluster and the Horologium-Reticulum supercluster. We analyzed the alignment between filament directions–traced by galaxy distributions–and the triaxiality of cluster gravitational potentials–traced by X-ray emission–using publicly available optical and X-ray data. Results We have found that most (82%) of the X-ray clusters are associated with and interconnected by the optically detected filaments. The clusters-filaments alignment analysis shows that the elongation of most clusters is well aligned with nearby filaments, providing observational confirmation of theoretical predictions, with the alignment progressively reducing at larger cluster-centric distances (> 1.6 r 200 ). Conclusions. Overall, our results support the notion that filaments are the main source of galaxy accretion at redshift below 0.1, and additionally provide evidence that matter accretion through filaments shapes the gravitational potential of galaxy clusters. We propose this measurement as a simple observational proxy to determine the direction of accretion in clusters, which is key to understanding both galaxy evolution and the merger history of galaxy clusters.

Astronomy and AstrophysicsVol. 704
Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (FR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), The University of Sydney (AU), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso (CL), University of Helsinki (FI), University of Talca (CL), University of Nottingham (GB), Valparaiso University (US), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (AR), University of Concepción (CL), Universidad de Granada (ES), Lyon College (US), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (BR), University of Atacama (CL), University of Cambridge (GB), Valongo Observatory (BR), Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics (DE), Universidad Internacional (MX), Galaxies, Etoiles, Physique et Instrumentation (FR), Institute of Astronomy (RU), Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (IN), Centro Brasileiro de Pesquisas Físicas (BR), National Observatory (BR), European Southern Observatory (CL), Nicolaus Copernicus Astronomical Center (PL), Millennium Engineering and Integration (United States) (US), Instituto de Geofísica y Astronomía (CU), Astronomical Observatory (RS), Laboratório Nacional de Astrofísica (BR), Osservatorio Astronomico di Padova (IT), Instituto de Astrofísica de La Plata, University of Chile (CL), University of La Serena (CL), Federico Santa María Technical University (CL), University of Birmingham (GB), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (AR), National Institute for Astrophysics (IT)
Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, UK Research and Innovation, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Ministerstwo Edukacji i Nauki, Universität Hamburg, Universidad de Granada, Junta de Andalucía, Leibniz-Institut für Astrophysik Potsdam, Poznańskie Centrum Superkomputerowo-Sieciowe, Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo, Science and Technology Facilities Council, Leibniz-Gemeinschaft, Russian Academy of Sciences
Openalex Percentile: Top 15%
Galaxies: Formation, Evolution, Phenomena
1.15
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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