Orateur
Description
Galaxy clusters represent the current stage of cosmological structure formation, and major mergers are central to the growth of these objects. Studies of merger dynamics can therefore test the paradigm of hierarchical structure formation in the universe over cosmic time. We have assembled a set of deep, multi-wavelength data (X-ray, SZ, and optical) for a sample of 8 galaxy clusters, 7 of which have previously been identified as likely mergers. For the first time in such an analysis, the data form a complete set of observables that probe the POS morphology and LOS velocity structure of both the ICM and DM components of mergers. I will discuss progress towards performing a systematic comparison of these novel multi-probe observations to corresponding mock observables generated from idealized hydrodynamical binary galaxy cluster merger simulations in order to constrain the merger geometry and dynamics for each member of our sample. I will describe in detail an ongoing investigation into the first member of the galaxy cluster sample, MACS J0018.5+1626 (aka CL 0016+16), and future plans to use population statistics of major mergers in our sample to test the ΛCDM cosmological model.
