XMM-Newton Distant Cluster Project (XDCP)

XDCP Gallery of Spectroscopically Cofirmed Clusters

The XMM-Newton Distant Cluster Project is a serendipitous X-ray survey dedicated to find and study clusters of galaxies at z > 1 (look-back times > 7.5 Gyrs). The main science goals and drivers are:

Constraining Cosmological Models and the Nature of Dark Energy with a Statistically Complete Sample of Distant Galaxy Clusters
Characterizing the Evolution of Galaxy Clusters Close to the Epoch of Formation
Exploring the Evolution of the Galaxy Populations in Clusters at Large Look-Back Times
Studying the Thermodynamic Evolution of the Intracluster Medium and its Enrichment with Heavy Elements

As an early result of a pilot study, we discovered the most distant X-ray luminous galaxy cluster known at the time: XMMU J2235.3-2557 at redshift of z=1.396 is shown on the right as extended X-ray source in the XMM detection image (top) and in a multicolor optical/NIR image with blinking X-ray emission (bottom).

We are now engaged in the completion of a comprehensive survey for dozens of distant galaxy clusters using the XMM-Newton data archive for the detection and large optical/NIR telescopes (VLT, Calar Alto, CTIO, NTT) for follow-up imaging and spectroscopic observations. The high-z cluster gallery at the top of the page features 18 spectroscopically confirmed XDCP clusters at z>0.8 (non-XDCP spectroscopic confirmations are indicated in yellow).

Links

Chris Mullis' XMMUJ2235 Page (public)

AIP Distant Cluster Page (restricted)

Top of Page