Weak lensing mass reconstruction of the galaxy cluster Abell 209

Abstract

Context. Weak lensing applied to deep optical images of clusters of galaxies provides a powerful tool to reconstruct the distribution of the gravitating mass associated to these structures. Aims. We use the shear signal extracted by an analysis of deep exposures of a region centered around the galaxy cluster ABCG 209, at redshift z ∼ 0.2, to derive both a map of the projected mass distribution and an estimate of the total mass within a characteristic radius. Methods. We use a series of deep archival R-band images from CFHT-12k, covering an area of ∼0.3 deg2. We determine the shear of background galaxy images using a new implementation of the modified Kaiser-Squires-Broadhurst KSB+ pipeline for shear determination, which we has been tested against the "Shear TEsting Program 1 and 2″ simulations. We use mass aperture statistics to produce maps of the 2 dimensional density distribution, and parametric fits using both Navarro-Frenk-White and singular-isothermal-sphere profiles to constrain the total mass. Results. The projected mass distribution shows a pronounced asymmetry, with an elongated structure extending from the SE to the NW. This is in general agreement with the optical distribution previously found by other authors. A similar elongation was previously detected in the X-ray emission map, and in the distribution of galaxy colours. The circular NFW mass profile fit gives a total mass of M 200 = 7.7-2.7+4.31014 M ⊙ inside the virial radius r200= 1.8 ± 0.3 Mpc. Conclusions. The weak lensing profile reinforces the evidence for an elongated structure of ABCG 209, as previously suggested by studies of the galaxy distribution and velocities. © ESO 2007.