The XMM‐Newton Wide‐Field Survey in the COSMOS Field: Statistical Properties of Clusters of Galaxies

We present the results of a search for galaxy clusters in the first 36 XMM-Newton pointings on the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS) field. We reach a depth for a total cluster flux in the 0.5-2 keV band of 3 × 10 -15 ergs cm -2 s -1 , having one of the widest XMM-Newton contiguous raster surveys, covering an area of 2.1 deg 2 . Cluster candidates are identified through a wavelet detection of extended X-ray emission. Verification of the cluster candidates is done based on a galaxy concentration analysis in redshift slices of thickness 0.1-0.2 in redshift, using the multiband photometric catalog of the COSMOS field and restricting the search to z < 1.3 and i AB < 25. We identify 72 clusters and derive their properties based on the X-ray cluster scaling relations. A statistical description of the survey in terms of the cumulative log( N > S )- log S distribution compares well with previous results, although yielding a somewhat higher number of clusters at similar fluxes. The X-ray luminosity function of COSMOS clusters matches well the results of nearby surveys, providing a comparably tight constraint on the faint-end slope of α = 1.93 ± 0.04. For the probed luminosity range of (8 × 10 42 )-(2 × 10 44 ) ergs s -1 , our survey is in agreement with and adds significantly to the existing data on the cluster luminosity function at high redshifts and implies no substantial evolution at these luminosities to z = 1.3.