The XMM Cluster Survey: optical analysis methodology and the first data release

Mehrtens, Nicola; Romer, A. Kathy; Hilton, Matt; Lloyd-Davies, E. J.; Miller, Christopher J.; Stanford, S. A.; Hosmer, Mark; Hoyle, Ben; Collins, Chris A.; Liddle, Andrew R.; Viana, Pedro T. P.; Nichol, Robert C.; Stott, John P.; Dubois, E. Naomi; Kay, Scott T.; Sahlén, Martin; Young, Owain; Short, C. J.; Christodoulou, L.; Watson, William A.; Davidson, Michael; Harrison, Craig D.; Baruah, Leon; Smith, Mathew; Burke, Claire; Mayers, Julian A.; Deadman, Paul-James; Rooney, Philip J.; Edmondson, Edward M.; West, Michael; Campbell, Heather C.; Edge, Alastair C.; Mann, Robert G.; Sabirli, Kivanc; Wake, David; Benoist, Christophe; da Costa, Luiz; Maia, Marcio A. G. and Ogando, Ricardo (2012). The XMM Cluster Survey: optical analysis methodology and the first data release. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 423(2) pp. 1024–1052.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2966.2012.20931.x

Abstract

The XMM Cluster Survey (XCS) is a serendipitous search for galaxy clusters using all publicly available data in the XMM–Newton Science Archive. Its main aims are to measure cosmological parameters and trace the evolution of X-ray scaling relations. In this paper we present the first data release from the XMM Cluster Survey (XCS-DR1). This consists of 503 optically confirmed, serendipitously detected, X-ray clusters. Of these clusters, 256 are new to the literature and 357 are new X-ray discoveries. We present 463 clusters with a redshift estimate (0.06 < ɀ < 1.46), including 261 clusters with spectroscopic redshifts. The remainder have photometric redshifts. In addition, we have measured X-ray temperatures (T_X) for 401 clusters (0.4 < T_X < 14.7 keV). We highlight seven interesting subsamples of XCS-DR1 clusters: (i) 10 clusters at high redshift (ɀ > 1.0, including a new spectroscopically confirmed cluster at ɀ = 1.01); (ii) 66 clusters with high T_X (>5 keV); (iii) 130 clusters/groups with low T_X (<2 keV); (iv) 27 clusters with measured T_X values in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) ‘Stripe 82’ co-add region; (v) 77 clusters with measured T_X values in the Dark Energy Survey region; (vi) 40 clusters detected with sufficient counts to permit mass measurements (under the assumption of hydrostatic equilibrium); (vii) 104 clusters that can be used for applications such as the derivation of cosmological parameters and the measurement of cluster scaling relations. The X-ray analysis methodology used to construct and analyse the XCS-DR1 cluster sample has been presented in a companion paper, Lloyd-Davies et al.

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