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In this paper, we study the cosmic acceleration for five dynamical dark energy models whose equation of state varies with redshift. The cosmological parameters of these models are constrained by performing a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) analysis using mainly gas mass fraction, fgas, measurements in two samples of galaxy clusters: one reported by Allen et al., which consists of 42 points spanning the redshift range 0.05 < z < 1.1, and the other by Hasselfield et al. from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope survey, which consists of 91 data points in the redshift range 0.118 < z < 1.36. In addition, we perform a joint analysis with the measurements of the Hubble parameter H(z), baryon acoustic oscillations and the cosmic microwave background radiation from Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP, Hinshaw et al.) and Planck measurements (Planck collaboration XIII) to estimate the equation-of-state parameters.We obtain that both fgas samples provide consistent constraints on the cosmological parameters.We find that the fgas data are consistent at the 2σ confidence level with a cosmic slowing down of the acceleration at late times for most of the parametrizations. The constraints of the joint analysis using WMAP and Planck measurements show that this trend disappears. We have confirmed that the fgas probe provides competitive constraints on the dark energy parameters when a w(z) is assumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The hierarchical model of structure formation is a key prediction of the Λ cold dark matter model, which can be tested by studying the large-scale environment and the substructure content of massive galaxy clusters. We present here a detailed analysis of the clusters RXC J0225.9-4154, RXC J0528.9-3927, and RXC J2308.3-0211, as part of a sample of massive X-ray luminous clusters located at intermediate redshifts. Methods: We used a multiwavelength analysis, combining WFI photometric observations, VIMOS spectroscopy, and the X-ray surface brightness maps. We investigated the optical morphology of the clusters, we looked for significant counterparts in the residual X-ray emission, and we ran several statistical tests to assess their dynamical state. We correlated the results to define various substructure features, to study their properties, and to quantify their influence on simple dynamical mass estimators. Results: RXC J0225.9-4154 has a bi-modal core, and two massive galaxy groups are located in its immediate surroundings; they are aligned in an elongated structure that is also detected in X-rays at the 1s level. RXC J0528.9-3927 is located in a poor environment; an X-ray centroid shift and the presence of two central BCGs provide mild evidence for a recent and active dynamical history. RXC J2308.3-0211 has complex central dynamics, and it is found at the core of a superstes-cluster. Conclusions: The complexity of the cluster's central dynamics reflects the richness of its large-scale environment: RXC J0225 and RXC J2308 present a mass fraction in substructures larger than the typical 5-15%, whereas the isolated cluster RXC J0528 does not have any major substructures within its virial radius. The largest substructures are found in the cluster outskirts. The optical morphology of the clusters correlates with the orientation of their BCG, and with the position of the main axes of accretion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an optical analysis of a sample of 11 clusters built from the EXCPRES sample of X-ray selected clusters at intermediate redshift (z ~ 0:5).With a careful selection of the background galaxies, we provide the mass maps reconstructed from the weak lensing by the clusters. We compare them with the light distribution traced by the early-type galaxies selected along the red sequence for each cluster. The strong correlations between dark matter and galaxy distributions are confirmed, although some discrepancies arise, mostly for merging or perturbed clusters. The average M=L ratio of the clusters is found to be M=Lr = 160 ~ 60 in solar units (with no evolutionary correction), in excellent agreement with similar previous studies. No strong evolutionary e~ects are identified, although the small sample size reduces the significance of the result. We also provide a individual analysis of each cluster in the sample with a comparison between the dark matter, the galaxies, and the gas distributions. Some of the clusters are studied in the optical for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims. We aim to study the reliability of RA (the distance from the arcs to the center of the lens) as a measure of the Einstein radius in galaxy groups. In addition, we want to analyze the possibility of using RA as a proxy to characterize some properties of galaxy groups, such as luminosity (L) and richness (N). Methods. We analyzed the Einstein radius, θE, in our sample of Strong Lensing Legacy Survey (SL2S) galaxy groups, and compared it with RA, using three different approaches: 1) the velocity dispersion obtained from weak lensing assuming a singular isothermal sphere profile (θE,I); 2) a strong lensing analytical method (θE,II) combined with a velocity dispersion-concentration relation derived from numerical simulations designed to mimic our group sample; and 3) strong lensing modeling (θE,III) of eleven groups (with four new models presented in this work) using Hubble Space Telescope (HST) and Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope (CFHT) images. Finally, RA was analyzed as a function of redshift z to investigate possible correlations with L, N, and the richness-to-luminosity ratio (N/L). Results. We found a correlation between θE and RA, but with large scatter. We estimate θE,I = (2.2 ± 0.9) + (0.7 ± 0.2)RA, θE,II = (0.4 ± 1.5) + (1.1 ± 0.4)RA, and θE,III = (0.4 ± 1.5) + (0.9 ± 0.3)RA for each method respectively. We found weak evidence of anticorrelation between RA and z, with Log RA = (0.58 ± 0.06) - (0.04 ± 0.1)z, suggesting a possible evolution of the Einstein radius with z, as reported previously by other authors. Our results also show that RA is correlated with L and N (more luminous and richer groups have greater RA), and a possible correlation between RA and the N/L ratio. Conclusions. Our analysis indicates that RA is correlated with θE in our sample, making RA useful for characterizing properties like L and N (and possibly N/L) in galaxy groups. Additionally, we present evidence suggesting that the Einstein radius evolves with z. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present the weak-lensing and optical analysis of the SL2S-ARCS (SARCS) sample of strong-lensing candidates. The sample is based on the Strong Lensing Legacy Survey (SL2S), a systematic search of strong-lensing systems in the photometric Canada- France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). The SARCS sample focusses on arc-like features and is designed to contain mostly galaxy groups. We briefly present the weak-lensing methodology that we used to estimate the mass of the SARCS objects. Among 126 candidates, we obtained a weak-lensing detection (at the 1σ level) for 89 objects with velocity dispersions of the singular isothermal sphere mass model (SIS) ranging from σSIS ~ 350 km s-1 to ~1000 km s-1 with an average value of σSIS ~ 600 km s-1, corresponding to a rich galaxy group (or poor cluster). From the galaxies belonging to the bright end of the group's red sequence (Mi < -21), we derived the optical properties of the SARCS candidates. We obtained typical richnesses of N ~ 5-15 galaxies and optical luminosities of L ~ 0:5-1:5 × 10s12 L☉ within a radius of 0.5 Mpc). We used these galaxies to compute luminosity density maps, from which a morphological classification reveals that a large fraction of the sample (~45%) are groups with a complex light distribution, either elliptical or multi-modal, suggesting that these objects are dynamically young structures. We finally combined the lensing and optical analyses to define a sample of the 80 most secure group candidates, i.e. weak-lensing detection and over-density at the lens position in the luminosity map, to remove false detections and galaxy-scale systems from the initial sample. We use this reduced sample to probe the optical scaling relations in combination with a sample of massive galaxy clusters. We detect the expected correlations over the probed range in mass with a typical scatter of ~25% in σSIS at a given richness or luminosity, making these scaling laws interesting mass proxies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present VLT spectroscopic observations of seven newly discovered galaxy groups between 0.3 -1. Their virial masses are between 1013 and 1014 M⊙, so they can be classified as groups or low mass clusters. Most of the systems are isolated groups, except two of them that show evidence of an ongoing merger of two substructures. We find that weak lensing estimates of the group velocity dispersions are 50% greater than estimates based upon the radial velocities of its members, and conclude that the dynamics of baryonic matter is a good tracer of the total mass content in galaxy groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The total mass of clusters of galaxies is a key parameter for studing massive halos. It relates to numerous gravitational and baryonic processes at play in the framework of large-scale structure formation, thus rendering its determination both important and challenging. From a sample of the 11 X-ray bright clusters selected from the EXCPRES sample, we investigate the optical and X-ray properties of clusters with respect to their total mass derived from weak gravitational lensing. From multicolor, wide-field imaging obtained with MegaCam at CFHT, we derive the shear profile of each individual cluster of galaxies. We carefully investigate all systematic sources related to the weak lensing mass determination. The weak lensing masses are then compared to the X-ray masses obtained from the analysis of XMM-Newton observations assuming hydrostatic equilibrium. We find good agreement between the two mass proxies although a few outliers with either perturbed morphology or poor quality data prevent deriving robust mass estimates. The weak lensing mass is also correlated with the optical richness and the total optical luminosity, as well as with the X-ray luminosity, to provide scaling relations within the redshift range 0.4 < z < 0.6. These relations are in good agreement with previous works at lower redshifts. For the LX - M relation we combine our sample with two other cluster and group samples from the literature, thus covering two decades in mass and X-ray luminosity, with a regular and coherent correlation between the two physical quantities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]