Testing X-ray selection effects with four rich, yet X--ray--faint, galaxy clusters

Abstract

A robust understanding of selection effects in galaxy cluster studies is crucial for both astrophysical and cosmological applications. Examining clusters identified through different observational strategies, even in small numbers, helps to illuminate potential biases inherent to each method. We selected four rich galaxy clusters in the Northern Hemisphere whose early Swift X-ray Telescope (XRT) observations indicated unusually low central X-ray emission, making them unlikely to be detected in X-ray surveys. Spectroscopic follow-up confirms that all four systems are genuine galaxy clusters, rather than projections of multiple clusters or groups along the line of sight. Their optical richness, estimated using one of the baseline Euclid cluster richness estimators, implies masses of $\log M_{200}/M_\odot \sim 14.6$ and independently confirms the absence of additional massive structures along the line of sight. Deep XRT follow-up reveals highly disturbed X-ray morphologies: three clusters exhibit at least two distinct X-ray peaks, while the remaining cluster has an axis ratio exceeding 1.5. Spectroscopy shows that galaxies associated with different parts share the same redshift, demonstrating that these substructures are physically connected rather than chance projections. These clusters display low central X-ray surface brightness and total X-ray luminosities suppressed by roughly one dex for their richness, making them undetectable in X-ray surveys as eROSITA. We estimate $\sim$20\% as a lower limit for the poorly sampled population, albeit based on a small sample. Our results demonstrate that even rich clusters in the northern $z<0.3$ Universe can be missed by X-ray selection and that the X-ray variety captured by X-ray surveys underestimates the true cluster diversity.