| Close Pairs as Proxies for Galaxy Cluster Mergers (2007) | |||||||||
Abstract | |||||||||
| Galaxy cluster merger statistics are an important component in understanding the formation of large-scale structure. Unfortunately, it is difficult to study merger properties and evolution directly because the identification of cluster mergers in observations is problematic. We use large N-body simulations to study the statistical properties of massive halo mergers, specifically investigating the utility of close halo pairs as proxies for mergers. We examine the relationship between pairs and mergers for a wide range of merger timescales, halo masses, and redshifts (0. Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures; Accepted for publication in ApJ. Significant additions to text and two figures changed. Added new findings on the universality of pair mergers and added analysis of the effect of FoF linking length on halo mergers | |||||||||
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